Bfr Warns Eu Toy Safety Laws Will Risk Children's Health

摘要

The new toy safety directive is insufficient and has the potential to be the cause of even greater threats to children's health and safety, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) said at the end of the year. A proposal to revise the EU toy safety Directive was adopted by the European Parliament at first reading on 18 December in Strasbourg and should enter into force this month. Companies will have to comply with the Directive's restrictions on chemicals by early 2013. The proposal was issued at the beginning of this year following a series of product recalls of toys containing dangerous levels of lead and magnets, which exposed weaknesses in the auditing and testing of toys. According to BfR, the new provisions are not sufficient, even leading "to a worsening of consumer protection," the Institute says in a statement released last week. "As children are far more sensitive to chemical substances than adults, we need particularly stiff provisions on the non-toxicity of toys," says BfR President Dr. Andreas Hensel.