Brussels, 06/12/2011 (Agence Europe) - The eurozone is in the midst of a financial crisis but the countdown to Christmas has begun. European consumer organisations, without wishing to add to the general atmosphere of gloom, are drawing to the attention of EU citizens the safety of the toys they buy and are calling on the EU to redouble its vigilance, especially towards toys which contain chemical substances. The revised European directive on toy safety, which came into force in July of this year (EUROPE No 10423), must not be allowed to conceal the existence of serious shortcomings on the safety of toys sold in Europe, ANEC (the European Consumer Voice in Standardisation) and BEUC (the European Bureau of Consumers' Unions) warned on Tuesday 6 December.
Just after the campaign launched by the European Commission helping consumers to buy the safest toys and use them without danger (EUROPE No 10505), the two consumer organisations say the market is not being properly monitored and toxic toys are being marketed.
“The present level of resources committed by member states to customs inspections and market surveillance is not enough to ensure that unsafe products do not reach the shops. At Christmas, we have particular concern about the safety of toys. We repeat our call for further resources to be made available at national level and the creation of a European framework as demanded by the European Parliament”, said ANEC Secretary General Stephen Russell, making reference to the call made by the European Parliament on 8 March for the directive on general product safety and market surveillance to be reviewed.
BEUC Director General Monique Goyens hammered home the point, regretting that, despite the improvements brought by the new European rules on toy safety, such as making warnings on toys more easily seen, it will be 2013 before the requirements for chemicals apply.
“It is unacceptable that the toys our children put in their mouths or sleep with in bed can still contain high doses of dangerous chemicals. To add insult to injury, the limits set in the legislation are not ambitious enough. What we need are specific limits on chemicals that can harm children's health, alter their hormonal system or damage their future fertility”, she said. Tests carried out on 40 toys by Stiftung Warentest in November 2011 found one in six to be unsafe. (AN/transl.rt)