Switzerland has amended the chemical requirements under its Toys Ordinance. The revisions became effective on August 1, 2021
In Switzerland, toys are regulated under Ordinance of the Federal Department of Home Affairs (FDHA) on the Safety of Toys (Toys Ordinance, RS 817.023.11; German, French and Italian versions). That piece of legislation contains elements from, among other things, Directive 2009/48/EC on toy safety (Toy Safety Directive, TSD) and Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) for the management of chemicals.
On July 8, 2021 Switzerland published Official Collection 2021 425 (German, French and Italian versions) to amend its Toys Ordinance. This amendment contains, inter alia, several important changes. It:
- Revises the two lists of allergenic fragrances
- Strengthens the aluminum migration limits for all three categories of toy materials (see Table 1 below)
- Expands the number of regulated substances from 10 to 11 by adding formaldehyde to toys for children under 36 months or in other toys intended to be placed in the mouth (see Table 2 below)
- Replaces ‘SN EN 71-3:2013 with corrigendum A3:2018’ with ‘SN EN 71-3:2019’ for the migration of certain elements
According to RO 2021 425, the latest amendment became effective on August 1, 2021. Toys that do not comply with the latest amendment relating to Annex 2 may be manufactured and imported under the previous law until July 31, 2022. These may be sold to consumers until stocks are exhausted.
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ORDINANCE OF THE FDHA ON TOY SAFETY |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
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Aluminum migration limits in Toy Materials |
Effective |
|||
|
Category I |
Category II |
Category III |
||
|
Toys |
5,625 mg/kg |
1,406 mg/kg |
70,000 |
In force |
|
RO 2021 425 |
2,250 mg/kg |
560 mg/kg |
28,130 |
August 1, |
Table 1
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Ordinance of the FDHA on Toy Safety |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Substance |
Toy Material |
Requirement |
Effective Date |
|
Formaldehyde migration |
Polymeric |
≤ 1.5 mg/L |
August 1, |
|
Formaldehyde emission |
Synthetic resin plywood/wood-based |
≤ 0.1 mL/m3 |
|
|
Formaldehyde content |
Textiles |
≤ 30 mg/kg |
|
|
Leather |
≤ 30 mg/kg |
||
|
Paper |
≤ 30 mg/kg |
||
|
Water-based |
≤ 10 mg/kg |
||
Table 2
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Toy Material |
Example |
|---|---|
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Category I: |
|
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Category II: |
|
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Category III: |
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SGS offers a wide range of services to ensure that your products comply with the EU Toy Safety Directive. We offer training, safety/risk assessment, technical documentation check, labelling review, testing according to harmonized standards, SVHC screening, inspections and audits. We operate the world’s largest network of toy experts and testing facilities – around 20 toy laboratories worldwide, including 3 EU Notified Bodies (France, Germany and Netherlands). In the end, it’s only trusted because it’s tested. Contact us for more information or visit our website.
For inquiries, please contact:
Hingwo Tsang
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