A series of recalls of toys made in China, focused consumer and government attention to the established safety of toys in the emerging Asian country. Many wonder whether you can buy toys made safely. In this article we examine the issues produced about the safety of toys in China.
The fact that 80 percent of toys sold in Britain are those produced in China makes it very difficult not to buy toys from China. Moreover, to most of the 'must have' toys, the children, like Barbie,There are so made all the parents refuse to buy toys made in China, could provide some very disappointed children on Christmas.
Recalls are a fact of life, no matter where the product is manufactured. And inevitably are, with millions of Chinese-made toys stocking the shelves of British toy shops a few callbacks. However, this is not to say there is no room for improvement.
Already the Toy (Safety) Regulations in the United Kingdom to maintaining high safety standards all toys sold here, no matterwhere it is produced. With every Chinese-toys that are sold here, so is the manufacturer's representative in Europe or the importer that the toy is not in line with European and British safety standards for toys. All toys will be sold in Britain, the name and address of the representative or the importer be accompanied. This will ensure that all toys from China can be monitored and anyone who substandard toys publications on the UK market can be prosecuted where appropriate.
Toy SafetySchemes in the UK are regulated according to EN 71 of the European Union directive. UK Toy Safety Regulations [http://www.monkeyshine.co.uk/pages/toy-safety-pv-c0-11.html] is a complex area, but here's a brief run-down of security requirements:
* The toys have the basic safety requirements of the Directive.
* The toy has to bear CE marking.
* The toy has the name and address of the manufacturer or supplier who is the first bear toy on the market in theEuropean Union.
* The toys have clear warnings if necessary.
All the toys sold in the United Kingdom, including in China, has to these safety standards. However, recent recalls have shown that potentially dangerous Chinese toys make it to the British market, leading to concerns about their safety.
The European Commission has to act quickly to address these concerns. In November 2007, EU Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, a number of initiatives toStrengthening the enforcement and implementation of product safety controls currently in the EU. These include:
Be completed * A thorough audit of business safety measures in the toy industry supply chain in early 2008.
* Measures to control by the national surveillance and customs authorities to manage - even for an effort by the Commission, appropriate warnings about the dangers of magnets in toys.
The Commission also took specific measures towill help to be imported toys from China, the highest safety standards. These include:
* An increase in technical assistance and training, particularly in relation to the new Chinese domestic alert system. Traceability will remain a priority issue.
* The EU-China Trade Project, which will lead a study on the product safety control mechanisms in China, identify areas for further collaboration.
The Commission has also reported the significant progress of the ChineseAuthorities on action to halt the flow of dangerous goods on the European market. There was more dangerous Chinese-made toys found in July-September 2007 than in the past six months. Corrective actions were taken in 43 percent of cases.
China also has an alarm set up a system that allows rapid authorities in Europe of dangerous toys on the market here determined alert.
Commissioner Kuneva said: "In this world you cancan not be guaranteed 100 percent. But you can make sure the system is satisfied for any purpose. You can ensure that all links in the chain to increase their use. You can ensure that manufacturers, importers, retailers and governments and the EU are ready to identify and tackle any new problems as they arise. I can assure you my 100 percent to ensure the pressure on the highest possible security for our citizens. "
Work to implement the new measures have alreadybegun, and it will be written to the Commission in toys directive in 2008, making the already high safety standards of toys in the United Kingdom.
In most cases, Chinese-made toys store shelves Britain's completely safe, and have been identified as a dangerous toy recalls were issued quickly and publicly. However, it still pays for consumers to be vigilant by toys before buying and any toys that they are not to British safety standards.
