On the 21st of December 2016 a new toy safety standard EN71-12:2016 was published by the EU. Compared with the old one, the new standard has changed a lot and is stricter. It supersedes EN 71-12:2013 which will be withdrawn. This amendment was approved on the 30th of October 2016 and will come into force in June 2017.
Requirements for N-Nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances in the new standard EN 71-12:2016 are as follows:
Material | Product type | N-Nitrosamines mg/kg | N-nitrosatable substances mg/kg |
Finger paints | finger paints | < 0.02 | < 1 |
Elastomers | a) toys intended for use by children under 36 months and intended or likely to be placed into the mouth | < 0.01 | <0. 1 |
b) toys intended for use by children under 36 months not covered by a) | < 0.05 | < 1 | |
c) toys intended for use by children of 36 months and over and intended to be placed into the mouth | < 0.05 | < 1 | |
d) balloons | < 0.05 | < 1 |
Due to the increasingly strict requirement of toy safety standards in the EU and the multinational toy trading barriers CTI suggests:
- Pay close attention to the technical regulations for toys, thoroughly comprehend the applicable area and product range, formulate corresponding solutions;
- Improve quality control, strictly control the quality of raw materials, do not blindly use cheaper material or lower the requirements of the production process in order to reduce costs.
- Improve the company’s own testing ability and conduct testing using a third party inspection agencies to improve the quality of the finished product. This will reduce or avoid the risk of claims from the market and potential product recall;
- Seek new non-toxic environmentally-friendly raw materials.