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Toy Safety
26 March 2010
The GRTU held a meeting for members in the toy sector in collaboration with MSA and invited the MSA to give a presentation on the current and future regulation and the work done by market surveillance on the subject. The most important points were:
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Toy: Any product or material designed or clearly intended for use in play by children of less than 14 years of age.
Legal requirements:
1. CE-Mark: It is the only mark which symbolises the conformity of the product with the applicable European requirements and it may only be affixed by the original manufacturer of the product, or his authorised representative.
2. Labelling, Instructions for use, Warnings and Technical Documentation.
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Exclusions: collector's items, playground equipment, jigsaw puzzles with >500 pieces, Air guns, air pistols and percussion caps, faithful reproductions of real firearms, slings and catapults, vehicles and combustion engines, professional bikes and video games.
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Essential Safety Requirements: Physical and mechanical ( edges, size of detachable parts due to suffocation, heating elements, cords due to strangulation, limits of dangerous chemicals, must not exceed 24V, must be clean to avoid infection.
It was explained by the MSA that the rules on the new legislation coming in as on 20th July 2011 will be stricter and more burdensome.
As to enforcement it was suggested that for problems to e avoided the importer should ensure to have all the documentation before importation, ensure CE mark is affixed to the product, know the supplier and carry out tests on samples before finalising the an order. They also explained that a number of inspections, product tests, warnings and withdrawals were done during 2009.
