Press Release: EU requires ‘magnetic toys’ to carry a warning label

Toys containing magnets look set to carry a mandatory warning label across the EU, under a Commission proposal approved by Member States in the General Product Safety Directive (GPSD) Committee on 28 February, 2008. The proposal for a draft Commission decision will cover all 'magnetic toys' - toys that contain or consist of loose or detachable magnets, or magnetic components of such size and shape that they can be swallowed by children. The warning label will be carried on the packaging or be otherwise attached to the toy. Magnets are an emerging risk, in the course of the last few years they have become smaller, more powerful and more easily detachable. There have been, over the past two years, a number of accidents worldwide with children swallowing magnets detached from toys, as well as hundreds of consumer complaints, incident reports and several RAPEX notifications. The draft Commission decision is part of the follow up to the stocktaking on toy safety controls undertaken by the Commission in Autumn 2007, following a series of high profile toy recalls. It is in line with similar measures being taken by Member States such as France and Germany since the end of last year. The draft decision will be submitted to the European Parliament before being put to the College of Commissioners for a decision in early April. Member States then have a 3 months period to ensure that all magnetic toys carry the warning label.

European Commission: MEMO/08/128: Questions and Answers on Magnets in Toys http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/08/128&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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