Aigner demands safety of children’s toys to be on the agenda of the Council of the European Union

Source: ygrek, Fotolia.com

In her letter, she also called for improvements to be made regarding chemical requirements, in particular for heavy metals such as lead, allergenic, carcinogenic and mutagenic substances, and substances which may impair fertility.

The Federal Minister had in August already criticised the new EU Toy Directive in a letter to EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen and called for its revision.

"In terms of the release of nickel, jewellery may soon be less contaminated than children’s toys. The regulations of the new EU Toy Directive are not sufficient to protect people against nickel allergies", the Federal Minister of Consumer Protection said regarding the new EU Toy Directive in Berlin today. "It is therefore indispensable to improve this Directive so that we do not place our children’s health at risk."

In December 2008, the European Parliament adopted the new Toy Directive as proposed by the Council. It took less than a year for the Council to discuss the European Commission’s proposal and only a few months for the Parliament to adopt it.

It was expected that the new Directive would in particular improve the chemical safety of toys; however, it has for the most part failed to do so. This is one of the reasons for which Germany did not accept the Directive in the Council. Back then, Federal Minister Aigner had already pointed out that the Directive’s scope was too narrow: "The limits for heavy metals which are of great concern, such as lead and cadmium, have not been reduced, but have instead actually been increased, meaning that they are not in line with current scientific findings.

Furthermore, it has to be ensured that very strict requirements are in place for toys for children under the age of 3 with respect to carcinogenic and mutagenic substances as well as substances which may impair fertility. As these children tend to put toys in their mouths, the stricter provisions for material coming into contact with food should apply rather than the chemical regulations.