Toy Testing: EN 71 Tests and CE Marking of Toys

Toy testing shows that a toy meets the safety requirements of the EU Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC. The Directive applies to products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14. Turkey applies the same rules through its own Toy Safety Regulation, so a correctly CE-marked toy can be placed on both the EU and the Turkish market.

For toy testing and CE marking of toys, apply to CE Danışmanı (CE Consultant); we manage the whole process for you.

What is assessed

The Directive looks at the hazards a toy can present when children use it as intended or in a foreseeable way. The requirements fall under six headings:

• Mechanical and physical properties: the toy is loaded with the forces a child of the intended age group can apply. Torque, tension, compression and bending tests are used.
• Flammability: the materials must not burn easily.
• Chemical properties: the migration of certain elements such as lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic and chromium from the toy materials must stay within the limits.
• Electrical properties: toys must not be powered by more than 24 V DC or the equivalent AC, and the circuit must be designed to prevent fire.
• Hygiene: the toy must be designed so that it can be kept clean and does not create a risk of infection or contamination.
• Radioactivity: the toy must comply with radiation protection rules.

Main standards

• EN 71-1: mechanical and physical properties
• EN 71-2: flammability
• EN 71-3: migration of certain elements
• EN 71-4: experimental sets for chemistry and related activities
• EN 71-5: chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets
• EN 71-7: finger paints
• EN 71-8: activity toys for domestic use
• EN 71-12: N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances
• EN 71-13: olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games
• EN 71-14: trampolines for domestic use
• EN IEC 62115: electric toys, safety

The tests are carried out in laboratories accredited to EN ISO/IEC 17025, and the results are recorded in a toy test report.

Why toys fail

• Small parts, or parts that break off easily, in toys for young children: choking hazard
• Soft filled toys where the filling can be reached easily
• Battery compartments that open or break easily
• Toys that produce sound above the permitted level
• Magnets that can be detached and swallowed

Documents behind the CE marking

• Technical documentation: description of the toy, design and manufacturing drawings, list of components and materials, safety data sheets for the chemicals used, the safety assessment, test reports, the conformity assessment procedure followed, the addresses of the places of manufacture and storage, and the EU-type examination certificate where a notified body was involved
• EU Declaration of Conformity
• Instructions and warnings: how the toy is used, assembled and maintained, with the specific warnings required for certain toy categories

Who is responsible for what

Manufacturers

• Design and produce the toy in line with the safety requirements
• Draw up the technical documentation and have the conformity assessment carried out
• Issue the EU Declaration of Conformity and affix the CE marking visibly, legibly and indelibly
• Put a type, batch, serial or model number and their name and address on the toy or its packaging
• Supply instructions and safety information with the toy
• Sample-test toys on the market where a risk is identified, inform distributors, and cooperate with the authorities on corrective action, withdrawal or recall

Importers

• Check, before placing the toy on the market, that the manufacturer has carried out the conformity assessment, drawn up the technical documentation and affixed the CE marking
• Put their own name and address on the toy or its packaging

Distributors

• Verify that the toy bears the CE marking and is accompanied by the required documents
• Store and transport the toy so that its compliance is not affected
• Cooperate with the manufacturer and the authorities when a risk is identified

Toys imported into Turkey are checked at customs through TAREKS, so the declaration and the test reports must be ready before shipment.

Products that are not toys under the Directive

• Playground equipment intended for public use
• Automatic playing machines intended for public use
• Toy vehicles with combustion engines and toy steam engines
• Slings and catapults
• Folk dolls and decorative dolls, and faithful replicas of real firearms
• Puzzles with more than 500 pieces
• Darts with metallic points
• Certain bicycles, scooters and roller skates
• Game software such as computer games

How CE Danışmanı helps

• Identifying the EN 71 parts and other standards that apply to your toy
• Coordinating the tests with accredited laboratories and following up failures
• Preparing the technical documentation, warnings and EU Declaration of Conformity
• Checking the documents of imported toys before shipment to Turkey