By: Playthings Staff – Gifts and Dec BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Commission has recently made two updates to its toy safety standards. These changes will affect toy manufacturers and distributors that export product into Europe, according to a report by the Toy Industry Association (TIA). On December 2, the EC published a revised “Guidance Document on Technical Documentation,” to help manufacturers and importers of toys in the EU file comprehensive technical documentation demonstrating compliance of each toy with the requirements of the EU Toy Safety Directive (TSD). Revisions to the Guidance Document include a model letter which toy companies can use to remind suppliers about the need to provide a list of materials, chemicals, and components used in the toy, as well as a model sub-declaration for suppliers to obtain a guarantee that the supplied parts and components have been correctly assessed and comply with the appropriate toy safety requirements for their expected use. The EC also amended current restrictions of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the REACH Regulation EC 1907/2006 (PAHs are not intentionally added to consumer products but are impurities of various manufacturing processes). The amendments in the new regulation (EU 1272/2013) includes limits for the allowable PAHs in rubber and plastic articles with prolonged skin or mouth contact, with special limits for toys in direct and prolonged or short-term repetitive contact with the skin or oral cavity. Source: Gifts And Decorative Accessories
European Commission updates list of European Harmonized Standards for the Toys Directive (88/378/EEC)
On August 11, the European Commission published an updated list of the European harmonized standards that pertain to the Toys Directive (88/378/EEC). The standards on this list may be used by manufacturers to prove that their toy(s) complies with the essential requirements of this directive.