Magnets in toys

Readers may well be aware of the incidence of injuries and fatalities as the result of swallowing of magnets used in certain decorative jewellery and toys. At the meeting of the General Product Safety Directive Committee on 28th February the proposal for a requirement to clearly label the product advising of the presence of magnets was approved.  We expect now that this decision will be formally adopted and published in the Official Journal of the EU. 

At this point the three month clock begins to tick and we can assume that this ruling will come into force towards the end of June or beginning of July.  In practice, this will mean a significant amount of sticky labeling for products already in the supply chain.  Magnetic toy products not complying with this requirement will be considered to be unsafe and in breach of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.

For further information on the above please contact the BPA. There is much work underway on the development of further new and revised standards both in the UK and EU our members are always kept informed of these.