EU RAPEX ANNUAL REPORT 2011: Toys is the second most notified unsafe products

EU RAPEX ANNUAL REPORT

Toys
Thirteen Member States took part in a joint enforcement project on toys. The main objective of the participants was to ensure that toys for children under 3 years of age are safe from the point of view of small parts, magnets and heavy metals.
The national authorities inspected the premises of  1,400 economic operators and over 14,000 toys were subjected to visual checks. 580 toys were tested against the requirements of the European standard EN 71-1 (small parts and magnets in toys).
Furthermore, approximately 2,300 toys sold by 360 economic operators were inspected for the presence of heavy metals and 230 toys were subjected to  laboratory  test s  for  compliance  with  EN  71-3 (migration of heavy metals in toys).
About 35% of the toys selected for laboratory tests failed to comply with the mechanical requirements related to small parts and magnets, while less than 1% of toys failed the heavy metals tests. These dangerous products can expose children to serious health risks and must be removed from the market.


Children’s equipment/childcare articles


In November 2011, a Commission-funded study on childcare articles was finalised. The study includes risk assessments and suggested safety requirement s  for  11  products  commonly  used  for  child and baby care, for which there are no European standards or where the existing relevant standard does not adequately cover the risks. Amongst the products concerned are  children’s shoes, bibs,  so  slings, baby feeders and nursery pillows. The European Commission will discuss draft safety requirements with Member States during 2012 with  a  view  to  adopting  safety  requirements  and mandates for standardisation work to be carried out by CEN.

**RAPEX system is to ensure that information about dangerous non-food consumer and professional products found in one Member State is rapidly circulated among all the other national authorities and sent to the Commission for followup, with the aim of preventing the supply of these products to consumers and professional users.