Understanding the EN71 EU Toy Safety Standard

I. Overview of the EN71 Standard

EN71 is the EU standard for toys, developed by the European Committee for Standardization (CEN). Its purpose is to reduce or prevent potential harm to children through technical specifications. This mandatory standard applies to products or materials designed or intended for children under 14 years of age. Since its implementation, the EN71 standard has been continuously updated and improved to adapt to the development of the toy industry and new safety requirements.

II. Key Control Sections of the EN71 Standard

1. EN71-1 Physical and Mechanical Properties

This section primarily sets safety technical requirements for the mechanical and physical properties of toys for children from newborns to 14 years of age. It also covers requirements for packaging, labeling, and instructions. Its core objective is to ensure that toys do not present any hazards that could endanger children's life or health, such as collapse, swallowing, sharp edges, noise, or points, during testing.

The sharp point test checks toys for sharp protrusions that could puncture children. For example, if a toy car has sharp corners, they could cause puncture injuries while playing. This test can effectively prevent this.

The sharp edge test ensures that toys have no sharp edges that could cut children's skin. For example, improper trimming of some plastic toys during production can create sharp edges, and this test can detect these potential hazards.

The small parts test ensures that toys contain small, easily detachable parts to prevent swallowing and choking hazards. For example, a common puzzle toy would not meet the small parts test if the pieces are too small and easily detach.

Pressure tests, bend tests, and impact tests simulate the pressure, bending, and impact conditions that toys may experience during use. This test verifies the structural strength of toys and ensures that they will not easily break down or produce hazardous components under normal use or reasonable abuse. For example, a child might squeeze a plush toy, and a pressure test can verify whether the toy will break under such conditions and the internal filling will not spill.

Seam tension testing, tension testing, and torque testing are primarily used to assess the strength of connections between toy components. For example, a toy doll's arms are connected to its body by stitching. A seam tension test verifies that the stitching is secure, preventing the arms from detaching when a child pulls on them. Tension and torque testing target movable parts of toys, such as the wheels of a toy car, to determine whether they will detach from the main body when subjected to tension or torque.

Noise level testing limits the noise level of toys during use to prevent damage to children's hearing. For some sound-producing toys, excessive noise can affect children's hearing development over time, so noise level testing is essential.

Power strength testing: For powered toys, such as electric toy cars, the power system must be tested for safety and reliability to prevent dangerous situations such as loss of control during operation.

The packaging film thickness test specifies the thickness of toy packaging film to prevent suffocation from children playing with the film. Thinner packaging film can easily stick to a child's face, obstructing breathing. Therefore, strict control of packaging film thickness is a key measure to ensure child safety.

For projectile toys, such as slingshots and darts, the test measures the launch force and projectile safety to prevent projectiles from causing harm to children. For example, a dart with an overly sharp tip or excessive launch force can cause serious injury to a child during play.

For some toys that may come into contact with children's hair, such as plush toys and headwear, hair adhesion tests are conducted to ensure that children's hair will not be easily entangled on the toy surface, avoiding pain or other injuries caused by hair being pulled during play.

2. EN71-2 Flammability

The materials and construction of toys must demonstrate adequate fire resistance to prevent fire accidents. Furthermore, flames in toys must be extinguished quickly to ensure children can safely escape the fire scene. This section details the categories of flammable materials prohibited in all toys and sets requirements for the combustion performance of specific toys when ignited by a small flame.

Celluloid (nitrocellulose) is generally not permitted in toy manufacturing, except for its use in varnishes, paints, glues, or in balls used in table tennis or similar games. Materials with the same fire properties as celluloid are also prohibited.

Flammability requirements specify specific burning speeds or time limits for different types of toys. For example, toys worn on the head, toys designed for children to wear during play, toys designed for children to enter, and soft-stuffed toys are required to have a burning speed that does not exceed specified limits when exposed to a fire source. For example, some plush toys will not meet EN71-2 requirements if their burning speed exceeds the standard's 30mm/s during flammability testing.

Special toy requirements: Some toys, such as children's clothing-style toys, must meet stricter combustion standards. This is because if a fire occurs while a child is wearing these toys, the fire could spread rapidly, posing a serious risk to the child. Therefore, the combustion performance requirements for these toys are more stringent to ensure the greatest possible safety for children.

3. EN71-3 Toxic Metal Leaching Test

The materials and chemicals used in toys must comply with relevant safety standards and must not contain hazardous substances. This section specifies requirements and testing methods for 19 substances, including aluminum, antimony, arsenic, barium, boron, cadmium, chromium (III), chromium (VI), cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, mercury, nickel, selenium, strontium, tin, organotin, and zinc, that may migrate from toy materials and toy components. The standard categorizes materials into three main groups, each with its own corresponding limit values:

Category I: Dry, brittle, powdered, or soft, plastic materials. Common plastic building blocks fall into this category, for example. The lead migration limit for these materials may be set at less than 90 mg/kg.

Category II: Liquid or viscous materials. Glues and paints used in some toys fall into this category. For example, the migration of certain heavy metals in glue must meet strict limits to prevent children from absorbing these harmful substances through their skin or other pathways.

Category III: Scrapeable Materials. Materials such as coatings on the surface of toys that can be scraped off by children during normal use are considered scrapeable materials. The heavy metal migration limits for these materials are also very strict to ensure that even if children accidentally scrape the surface of the toy during play, they will not ingest excessive amounts of toxic metals.

It should be noted that packaging materials are generally not included unless they are part of a toy or have entertainment value in themselves. In addition, certain toys and toy parts are not included in this standard if, taking into account the normal and foreseeable behavior of children, these parts can obviously exclude hazards caused by sucking, licking and swallowing due to their accessibility, function, mass, size or other characteristics.

4. EN71-4 Experimental Apparatus for Chemical and Allied Activities

This standard covers experimental apparatus for chemical and allied activities, including crystal growing apparatus, carbon dioxide generators, and refilling apparatus. It does not cover olfactory board games, cosmetic kits, or taste games. It also does not apply to other chemical toys covered by EN71-5 (e.g., oven-hardening plasticized PVC modeling sticky sets). It specifies restrictions on the use of various chemical substances (e.g., solvents, pigments, etc.) in toys to ensure that the use of the toys does not pose a health risk to children.For example, reagents in chemical experiment kits must be safe and non-toxic, and clear instructions and warnings must be provided on the packaging and labels to prevent children from misusing them. At the same time, for some experimental operations that may pose higher risks, such as heating and mixing, appropriate protective measures, such as protective glasses or gloves, must be provided to reduce the risks to children during the operation.

5. EN71-5 Chemical Toys (Excluding Test Devices)

This standard specifies specific requirements for coatings and printing inks in toys, including restrictions on hazardous substances and test methods for abrasion and scratch resistance. During toy production, coatings and printing inks are widely used to decorate the surfaces of toys. However, if these coatings and inks contain excessive amounts of hazardous substances, such as heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, they may enter children's bodies through skin contact, inhalation, and other routes during play, posing a health risk.Therefore, EN71-5 strictly limits the harmful substances in toy paints and printing inks, and requires testing of their abrasion resistance and scratch resistance to ensure that the paints and inks will not fall off easily under normal use, reducing the risk of children being exposed to harmful substances.

6. EN71-6 Graphical Representation of Age Labels

This section states that toys that are not suitable for children under three years of age but may pose a risk to children under three years of age must carry age warning labels. Warning labels may use text or pictorial symbols. If used, they must comply with the requirements of EN71 Part 1 and clearly display the warning, whether in English or another language. Clear, graphical representations of age labels can help parents accurately select toys appropriate for their children's age, preventing harm to children caused by inappropriate toy selection.For example, some puzzle toys with small parts may pose a swallowing risk to children under three years old. Therefore, packaging must clearly indicate an age warning indicating they are not suitable for children under three years old.

7. EN71-7 Requirements for Finger Paints

This standard specifies the maximum allowable levels of soluble elements (such as molybdenum and tin) in toys to minimize the risk of children ingesting these elements through oral contact. It also lists the permitted colorants and preservatives in finger paints and their limits, establishes migration limits for eight heavy metals, and restricts the use of major aromatic amines. It also sets requirements for the physical properties of finger paints.For example, strict limits are set for the migration of heavy metals such as lead and mercury from finger paints to ensure that children do not ingest excessive amounts of harmful substances even if they accidentally put the paint in their mouths while painting. Furthermore, specific requirements are set for the physical properties of finger paints, such as viscosity and drying time, to ensure their safety and stability during use.

8.EN71-8 Swinging, sliding and similar toys for indoor and outdoor family entertainment

This standard specifies specific requirements for activity toys (such as swings and slides), including structural, material, and safety considerations. It applies to household activity toys with or incorporating crossbars, and similar toys intended for children under 14 years of age to play on or within. Structural requirements require that the swing frame be sufficiently strong and stable to withstand the swaying and weight of children during play, preventing collapse and injury.Slide runners must have a smooth surface, free of sharp protrusions or indentations, to protect children from scratches while sliding. Specific requirements are also set for protective features on toys, such as swing safety belts and slide handrails, to ensure children's safety during play.

9. EN71-9 General Requirements for Organic Compounds in Toys

This standard specifies the total amount of toxic compounds that can migrate from each toy or toy material through exposure routes such as contact with the mouth, potential ingestion, skin contact, eye contact, and inhalation.Products covered by the standard include toys designed for children under three years old (because these toys may be put into the mouth and chewed by children) and products designed for older children (because these products may come into contact with children's mouths, skin, or be inhaled by children). The scope of restricted substances is particularly broad, including flame retardants, colorants, aromatic amines, monomers, solvent migration, inhalable solvents, wood preservatives (indoor and outdoor), other preservatives, and plasticizers. For example, flame retardants used in toys are required to meet flame retardant properties while not releasing excessive amounts of toxic and hazardous substances, so as to avoid potential threats to children's health.

10. EN71-10 Sample Preparation and Extraction of Organic Compounds

This section primarily specifies how to prepare and extract samples of organic compounds in toys, providing reliable samples for subsequent analytical testing. When testing for organic compounds, the target organic compounds must first be extracted from the toy material. Sample preparation and extraction methods directly impact the accuracy and reliability of the test results.EN71-10 specifies detailed extraction methods for organic compounds from various toy materials (such as plastics, rubber, and textiles), including parameters such as the extraction solvent, extraction time, and temperature. This ensures effective extraction of organic compounds from toys and provides accurate samples for subsequent analytical testing.

11. EN71-11 Analysis Methods for Organic Compounds

This section specifies specific methods for analyzing organic compounds in toys.After extracting organic compounds from toys, appropriate analytical methods are needed for qualitative and quantitative analysis to determine whether the types and contents of organic compounds in toys meet the requirements of EN71-9. EN71-11 specifies a variety of analytical methods, such as instrumental analysis using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), as well as some chemical analysis methods. These analytical methods offer high sensitivity and accuracy, enabling accurate detection of trace amounts of organic compounds in toys and ensuring toy safety.