Dinosaurs, dolls or dragons? From now on, the chemicals that cause risks and development of health will be prohibited in toys sold in the European Union. The European Parliament and the Council have reached a provisional agreement on more severe safety requirements for producers and suppliers, including those operating on online platforms. The ban will affect those chemicals that can cause cancer, alter DNA or damage the reproductive organs.
Dangerous products are almost everywhere in our daily life: most (36%) are found in cosmetics, according to data provided by the European Commission. But the surprising thing is that toys are the second category of most dangerous products (with 15%), in front of the appliances (with 10%). The dangers of toys are mainly related to chemicals.
One in five products marked as dangerous and that withdraws from the EU market is a toy. Therefore, before introducing a toy on the market, producers must carry out a safety assessment that covers all potential risks. And toys will need a product digital passport in the form of QR code which proves to satisfy the safety standards.
But neither the best security legislation can prevent bad sellers from selling illegal toys; Therefore, Europol has published guidelines on how to recognize false and dangerous toys: if the price is too beautiful to be true, if there are no compulsory labels, if the toy is sold in a transparent plastic bag instead of in a normal winding or if the brand or instructions contain spells, it is not necessary to buy.
Marion Walsmann (DPI), vice -president of the Commission for Legal Affairs of the European Parliament, was the main negotiator of the file on the security of toys. As “Euronews” said, legislation has a broad political support. “And there was a broad consensus in which the previous rules, which dates back to 2009, needed an urgent review. There was also a general consensus on the variation of a directive to a regulation.”
Walsmann has also established the calendar: “The next step is that some technical improvements and formulations must still be made. Therefore, the commission of the internal market will give its approval by vote again. Subsequently, it will go to the plenary session of October for the final vote and, subsequently, will be published in the Official Gazette of the European Union. It will live in force and will have an effect of 2029”.
Once the standards have been revised, the European Union offers children toys. The children will be more protected by invisible dangers as harmful chemicals, including endocrine switches, and the PFA, also known as “eternal chemicals”. And their parents will have access to all the information they need on each of the toys.
