Product Recalls / Alerts

Below you will find a monthly summary table of product recalls and alerts in Europe (Source “RAPEX”) and in the US (Source “CPSC”).

Europe:

RAPEX (European Commission Rapid Alert System for dangerous non-food products – Alerts reported by EU national authorities).

The following 12 alerts regarding Childcare articles, equipment and toys have been reported, from week 1 to week 3 of 2021.

US

From the 1st January 2021 to the 20th January of 2021, CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission) published the following recalls: 1 recalls regarding Childcare and children’s products.

New update of Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs)

On 19 January 2021, the ECHA (European Chemicals Agency) has released the new Candidate List of SVHCs. With the addition of two new substances, the current list of SVHCs contains 211 substances.

These two substances are used in products, such as inks or toners and to produce plastics and rubber tyres.

The below shows the two new substances included:

1) Substance name: Bis(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethyl)ether

EC number: 205-594-7

CAS number: 143-24-8

Reason for inclusion: Toxic for reproduction
(Article 57 (c)) 

2) Substance name: Dioctyltin dilaurate, stannane, dioctyl-, bis(coco acyloxy) derivs., and any other stannane, dioctyl-, bis(fatty acyloxy) derivs. wherein C12 is the predominant carbon number of the fatty acyloxy moiety

Reason for inclusion: Toxic for reproduction (Article 57 (c)) 

Click here for getting the official news from ECHA’s website.

A new EN 71-2:2020 Flammability Toy Safety standard is published by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN)

On December 9, 2020, an updated EN71-2:2020 – Safety of Toys Part 2: Flammability standard was published. The new standard will supersede EN71-2:2011+A1:2014.
The standard shall be given the status of a national standard, either by publication of an identical text or by endorsement, at the latest by June 2021, and conflicting national standards shall be withdrawn at the latest by December 2021.

The major changes are listed below:

1. Adds a definition for disguise costumes

2. Adds a new requirement for disguise costumes - the test specimen is to be tested before and after washing, even if the instructions state not to wash

3. Increases the testing of smaller specimens by allowing combined or half-size specimens

4. Adds clarifications on the measurement of unhindered dimensions, and of test categories applicable to toys worn on the head and to toy disguise costumes

5. Adds an annex of a guidance on how to determine the appropriate test requirement of the product

6. Adds an annex on suggestions to manufacturers on how to reduce the rate of spread of flames for toy disguise costumes

7. Adds an annex of flowcharts showing how to obtain test specimens from toy disguise costumes

8. Adds definition of toys intended to be entered by a child (constructed from fabric and/or polymer sheets and films that are intended to fully or almost fully enclose a child on all sides)

The standard still needs to be harmonized. This means that it needs to be accepted by the EU Commission and Member States by publication in the Official Journal of the EU (OJEU). Only then can it be used to show compliance to the EU Toy Directive 2009/48/EC.