EU Updates EN 71-3 and Strengthens Migration Limit for Chromium (VI) in Certain Toy Materials

The European Committee for Standardization (CEN) has published the latest version of EN 71-3 Safety of Toys - Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements.

EN 71-3 covers the migration of 19 elements:

1. Aluminium
2. Antimony
3. Arsenic
4. Barium
5. Boron
6. Cadmium
7. Chromium (III)
8. Chromium (VI)
9. Cobalt
10. Copper
11. Lead
12. Manganese
13. Mercury
14. Nickel
15. Selenium
16. Strontium
17. Tin
18. Organic tin
19. Zinc

The 2019 iteration of the standard contains several technical changes to its predecessor, EN 71-3:2013+A3:2018. These include making the standard analogous to the changes brought in by Directive (EU) 2018/725, which amended Directive 2009/48/EC, the so-called European Toy Safety Directive (TSD). (EU) 2018/725 strengthening by roughly a factor of four the migration limit relating to chromium (VI) in scraped-off toy materials (category III). The new toughened limit of 0.053 mg/kg will become effective on November 18, 2019.

Category III – Scraped-off toy materials include:

• Ceramics, glass, metals & metal alloys, textiles and wood
• Elastomers, leatherettes, polymers and surface coating materials
• Other materials such as bone, leather and natural sponge

Other changes to EN 71-3 include:

• Revising sampling and sample preparation procedures, including those for dewaxing and pH control
• Use of sieving no longer required
• Revising calculation methods, including those for chromium (III)
• Revising test methods for the stabilization of migration solutions, general elements and organic tin
• Replacing test method for chromium (III) and chromium (VI) by test method for chromium (VI) which is capable of determining chromium (VI) at the limit values for all material categories

Stakeholders should also be aware that the new standard indicates Ion Chromatography (IC) with post-column derivatization and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV/VIS) as suitable for detecting chromium (VI) in category III toy materials.

The new standard is expected to be harmonized with the TSD upon official acceptance by the European Commission and its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. It will be afforded the status of a national standard by October 2019, meaning conflicting standards should be withdrawn by this date.

SGS EU Toy Directive Services

SGS offers a wide range of services to ensure that products comply with the EU Toy Safety Directive. They offer training, safety/risk assessment, technical documentation check, labelling review, testing according to harmonized standards, SVHC screening, inspections and audits. They have the world’s largest network of toy experts and testing facilities, including around 20 toy laboratories and three 3 EU Notified Bodies (France, Germany and Netherlands). Learn more about SGS’s EU Toy Directive Services.

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