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 It supersedes EN 71-12:2013 which will be withdrawn.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:

1. Pay close attention to the technical regulations for toys, thoroughly comprehend the applicable area and product range, formulate corresponding solutions;
2. 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.
3. 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;
4. Seek new non-toxic environmentally-friendly raw materials.