Europe passes 'radical' review of toy safety standards

The new legislation puts the onus on importers to ensure toys they bring into the EU are safe, as opposed to leaving it up to overseas manufacturers to test for safety.

Chemicals that could cause cancer, mutate cells or be toxic to reproduction are now banned from toys under the new rules.

Also banned are toxic elements such as lead, mercury and chromium in toy production, as well as the use of most allergenic fragrances in toys.

The European Parliament's Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, chaired by Arlene McCarthy MEP, signed the toy safety law yesterday, after sign-off from the Member States.

McCarthy said: “Our current toy safety law is 20 years old and does not deal with the new risks and threats. In particular, it does not tackle the risks with imported toys, given that 95 per cent of UK toys and 80 per cent of toys EU-wide are imported from China.

“After last year's toy safety scares and recalls, I demanded a review of the law to target toxic toy imports. We have achieved a radical review of toy safety law. We have raised the safety standards in the legislation and introduced clearer, more effective warning labels for toys.

“We want to give parents confidence in the toys on sale in the EU. Our new law is designed to ensure dangerous toys never make it on to the shop shelves.”