Consumer Protection Minister Aigner continues to press for amendments to be made to EU Toy Directive
Federal Consumer Protection Minister Ilse Aigner welcomed the EU Commission’s indication that the Toy Directive may well be revised. "The safety of children’s toys is of the highest priority. Before the Directive becomes applicable throughout Europe in mid-2011, significant adjustments must be made to the limit values for certain chemical substances," stated Aigner in Berlin on Thursday.
The minister drew attention to similar reservations that have been expressed by the European Parliament. "I welcome the fact that the Commission has now also recognised the need to take action. Now these words must be put into action."
The Consumer Protection Minister believes that a further assessment carried out by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) has confirmed her position. Under commission to the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV), the BfR drew up a risk assessment of the heavy metals lead and cadmium in toys. In the BfR’s opinion it must be ensured that the release of lead from toys is kept as low as possible. The threshold value that has applied to-date should definitely not be exceeded. The BfR’s view is that the admissible cadmium intake via toys should be significantly reduced. The statement by the Federal Institute can be accessed via the BfR’s Internet site (www.bfr.bund.de).
The inadequate threshold values were one of main reasons why Germany refused to agree to the new EU Toy Directive. The BMELV commissioned the BfR to draw up a report on chemical safety in toys and used these assessments in the summer of 2009 as grounds for having in-depth analyses of individual substance groups carried out. The BfR has a department for product safety specifically dedicated to this area; it focuses mainly on the chemical safety of consumer products, such as toys. At the beginning of December 2009, the Institute published a risk assessment on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAKs) as an example of carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic substances (CMR) in toys. A risk assessment on allergenic substances, for example certain aromatic substances or nickel, is to be completed at the beginning of next year. The risk assessments by the BfR will from 2010 be supplemented by tests for lead and cadmium in toys which are to be carried out during Länder monitoring procedures.
The risk assessment that has just been completed on lead and cadmium in toys reinforces the call made by Consumer Protection Minister Aigner for the chemical requirements of the new Toy Directive 2009/48/EC to be brought into line with the scientific state-of-the-art. "We must use the remaining time before the Directive is implemented in order to make decisive improvements," said Aigner. She drew attention to the fact that an initiative by Germany had played a significant role in a “Standing Committee” for the safety of toys being constituted in Brussels. The minister called for this body and the Council to conduct discussions on more stringent limit values for children's toys.
Aigner said that the GS label was a good source of guidance for consumers who would like to buy toys. She went on to say that this label stood for "geprüfte Sicherheit" (certified safety) and indicated that the toy had been tested by an independent agency for compliance with regulations, in particular safety regulations.
pressrelease 293 09.12.17
