The Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) has recently published a document setting out the committee’s preliminary opinion on the ingestion of toy materials by children. Here at the Pharmaceutical Technical Office, we discuss in our weekly Rapex reports many products in the toys category that are being recalled because they contain toxic materials or small parts that can easily be swallowed.
We firmly believe in the European Commission’s obligation to protect users of toys purchased in the EU, which is achieved by establishing strict pre-market safety criteria, drawing up lists of substances permitted in the manufacture of toys, and maintaining a certain level of toxicologicalmonitoring of cases of poisoning in children caused by toys.
This preliminary report examines children’s exposure to chemicals in toys, with a focus on gathering further data on the quantities of each material ingested on each occasion. To this end, a theoretical framework relating to children’s oral behaviour is provided, and various statistical data collected on toy-ingestion habits and the materials ingested are presented.
The committee was particularly keen to address these two issues:
-
Is there any new information on the number of toys that children swallow?
-
Is there any new information on how often toy parts are swallowed?
The report concludes with a series of opinions from SCHER. The committee believes that there are no new studies or articles that deal directly with the quantity of materials consumed. It also reports that, according to recent studies on oral behaviour and duration of ingestion, there is considerable variation in the amount ingested, depending on the children’s age and the type of toy. Furthermore, it provides an estimate of what level of ingestion is inappropriate, categorising toys by material and texture.
Although this is not covered in this report, we would like to point out that, within the field of hygiene, various studies are currently being carried out along similar lines, relating to children’s toothbrushes, their use and the potential toxicity associated with them.
If you would like further information about this report, you can see the original on the SCHER website.