11 standards that must be understood when exporting toys to the EU

Toy products, we export to the EU, the vast majority of foreign trade partners are most familiar with EN71-1, EN71-2 and EN71-3, these three standards, but in fact the EU has a set of regulations for toys to control, today we Let me introduce the EU toy regulations in detail.

According to the requirements of the EU Toy Directive TOY 2009/48/EC, toys can be divided into two categories.

The first category is toys that are wholly or partially incapable of being covered by relevant harmonized standards (eg EN71, EN62115, etc.). This type of toy should be EC type examination by the Notihed Body and issue an EC type certificate. The manufacturer will then issue a type declaration (EC type test) according to the EC type test certificate. Type declaration of conformity).

The second category is toys that can be fully covered by relevant harmonized standards. Such toys do not need to be EC type test and issued EC type test certificate by the accreditation notified body. The manufacturer can self-verify (Self-verification) and affix the CE mark, but must submit a test report (test report) and other verification documents, ie Internal production control is used.

The conformity assessment procedure is the primary means of verifying product quality. The EU stipulates that all products covered by 2009/48/EC involving safety, health, health and environmental protection must pass the corresponding conformity assessment procedures and be affixed with the CE mark before entering the EU market. Otherwise, it is not allowed to import or sell.

The CE mark is an identification system that manages products to meet the requirements of relevant directives. It is an important means of implementing market surveillance in the EU. Once a product has been affixed with the CE mark, it indicates that the product meets the basic requirements of safety, health, health or environmental protection in the EU New Method Directive and can be freely circulated in the EU market.

So what is the harmonized standard?

EU standards are generally non-enforceable, rules, guidelines or documents for general or reusable products or related processes and production methods, including terminology, symbols, packaging, labeling or labeling requirements. The European standard after the announcement of the recognized agency CEN is called the “harmonized standard” and was approved by the standardization organization on the basis of unanimous approval by the European Commission.

The harmonized standard has the status of "inferred to meet the basic requirements" and is a tool for the manufacturer to prove that the product meets the basic requirements of the directive. That is to say, products that meet harmonized standards can be circulated in the EU market, but in general it is mandatory to implement harmonized standards.

Therefore, the EN71 standard we often do is a harmonized standard.

EN 71 series of requirements

The EN 71 series of toy safety standards is a series of specific test standards developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN) for the Toy Directive TOY 2009/48/EC.

This series of standards includes various indicators in the Toy Safety Directive and covers most toy products. All toy stores sold in the EU must comply with the EN 71 series of test standards.

Items covered by the EN 71 series of standards include physical and mechanical properties, flammability, electrical properties, radioactivity requirements, operating instructions, warnings, etc.

(1) Mechanical and physical performance requirements

First of all, the toy and its accessories, as well as the part of the fixed toy must have sufficient mechanical strength, and must also have sufficient stability to withstand the pressures that may be encountered during use to prevent the toy from being broken and deformed. Whether the toy has the corresponding mechanical strength is mainly judged by the normal use and foreseeable abuse test (tension test, torque test, drop test, pressure test, impact test, tipping test, etc.) in EN71-1.

The design and production of the accessible edges, projections, strings, cables and fasteners of the toy must be such as to minimize the possibility of injury to the human body when in contact with it. This requirement is primarily intended to prevent dangerous cusps, sharp edges or protruding parts on the toy. In addition, the application of cords, cables and fasteners should not present a risk of harm to the human body.

Again, the design and production of toys must avoid the relative movement of small parts that can cause harm to the human body or minimize this risk. The relative motion of small parts in some toys is inevitable, such as folding scooters, folding mechanisms for toy carts, etc. Designers or manufacturers need to consider the risk of pinching their fingers/cutting their fingers so that they can be reduced The smallest.

A major concern in mechanical and physical performance is the risk of suffocation. In addition, mechanical and physical performance requirements for water toys, closed space toys, and active toys are required for speed limitation, ejection function, temperature rise, and noise.

(2) Material flammability requirements

The material flammability requirements are mainly for the requirements of the materials to be manufactured, taking into account the various combustion possibilities of the materials used, with the goal of not self-igniting and slow burning. It should also be noted that "the substance or mixture that becomes flammable due to the loss of non-flammable volatile components" must not be contained. That is to say, in the selection of toy materials, in addition to the flammability of the material, consider those substances that are not flammable but have potential flammability.

(3) Electrical performance

Electrical performance standards also have refinement requirements in terms of voltage, component shock, temperature rise, power supply shock, fire protection, electromagnetic compatibility, toy construction, optical radiation, and transformers. It should be noted that any accessible part of the toy must not exceed 24V DC voltage or equivalent AC voltage. The electrical transformer of the toy should not become an indispensable part of the toy.

The basic safety requirements of EN 71 When the toy is intended for normal use and foreseeable misuse, the child's behaviour must be taken into account and the health or safety of the user or third party must not be compromised. Among them, "safety" mainly refers to physical properties and other aspects, and health refers to chemistry and microorganisms. Manufacturers should also fully consider the misuse of users and take into account adult supervision. EN 71-3 limits 19 specific transportable heavy metal elements for accessible toy materials.

Products that meet these harmonized standards can be considered as meeting the basic requirements of the EU Directive, allowing them to be placed on the market and freely circulated in the market. The current coordination standards for toy products are as follows:

Suitable for all types of play standard EN71 series have the following standards:

EN71-1 physical and mechanical testing

EN 71-2 Flammability Test

EN 71-3 toxic metal migration test

EN 71-4 chemical experiment toy

EN 71-5 non-experimental chemical toys

EN 71-7 Coatings, Coating Requirements

EN 71-8 Swing, Sliding and Similar Toys for Indoor and Outdoor Home Entertainment

EN 71-9 General requirements for organic compounds in toys

Sample preparation and extraction of EN 71-10 organic compounds

Method for analysis of EN 71-11 organic compounds

EN 71-12 N-nitrosamines and N-nitroso compounds

EN 71-13 olfactory board game, taste board game, cosmetics

EN 71-14 trampoline toy for home entertainment.

Of course, with the advent of smart products, toy products are no longer pure toy products. They may belong to the integration of toy products and electronic smart products. At this time, it is necessary to refer to CE's multiple instructions for quality control.

The technical regulations and directives involved in toy products in the European market are 8 EU directives and regulations related to toys, as follows:

• EU General Product Safety Directive (20095/EC and GPSD Directive)

• REACH Regulations on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals

• EU Toy Directive TOY 2009/48/EC

• Electromagnetic compatibility directive EMCD 2014/30/EU

• Wireless Device Directive RED 2014/53/EU

• Battery and Battery Directive 2002/525/EC

• Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive 2011/65/EU, RoHS 2.0 Directive

• Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive 2002/96/EC, WEEE Directive.

In addition, toys may also be involved in textiles, food contact materials and other regulatory requirements, so we need specific products for specific analysis before entering the EU market, in order to ensure that our safety compliance into the target market.