Amended Standards EN 71-1 and EN 71-2 under EU Toy Safety Directive

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - July 18, 2014 - PRLog -- In the Official Journal of the European Union 2014/C 181/01 dated 18 June 2014 (1) the new amendments to EN 71-1 and EN 71-2 have been harmonized. Only harmonized standards can be used to show compliance to the EU Toy Directive 2009/48/EC. The amendments will come into force for toys being placed on the EU market after 30 September 2014. Toys already in the market will not be affected by the revised standards.

Changes to EN 71-1 on Toys’ Physical and Mechanical Properties

- Paperboard

Paperboard is excluded from the small parts requirements. The exclusion is due to the properties of paperboard to soften and lose form and strength when made wet by children that chew, suck and bite on paperboard. The wet pieces do not pose a significant choking risk. The exclusion does not apply to dry paperboard small parts and “weakly attached” small parts. Small parts as received and small parts that can be detached with a force less than 25N may be ingested while they are still dry and pose a choking risk. For this reason, dry paperboard small parts and “weakly attached” small parts are not allowed under the revised standard.

- Visibility and legibility of warnings

In order to improve the visibility and legibility of warnings, good practice guidance is provided in the revised standard.

Following is a summary of the new guidance:

* Emphasize the warning: e.g. by placing them in a prominent position.
* Contrast, background and colors: e.g. using sharp color contrast and avoiding strong background patterns in the location of the warning.
* Reflecting surfaces and obscuring material: e.g. avoiding highly reflecting surfaces.
* Font type: by using preferred sans-serif font types.
* Font size: no recommendation is given for minimum lettering size. However, the revised standard recommends the use of larger font sizes where possible to improve visibility and legibility.
* Logical direction of text: by considering logical lay-out directions.

- Changes due to interpretation issues:

* Toy and packaging requirements for plastic sheeting and bags have been harmonized.
* Explanation of the terms “elastic” and “felt fabric” in relation to small part exclusions.
* The accuracy specification for the Gauss meter has been corrected for magnet evaluation.

Changes to EN 71-2 on Flammability Requirements

The main change to the flammability standard EN 71-2 is to clarify the exact location of the test flame when performing flammability testing of soft filled toys.

References:

(1) European Union 2014/C 181/01 (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=OJ...)

(2) SGS Safeguards N#063/14 – March 2014 (http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/0...)

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