Manufacturers: Fulfilment of new market requirements for increased safety
01-24-12Nuremberg / Cologne
As of 20 July 2011, the new toy safety directive became effective in Europe. The revision of the 20-year-old directive was necessitated by an increasingly rapidly changing market, new scientific findings and a more consistent acceptance of responsibility by manufacturers or trading companies. "With our comprehensive experience in all aspects of toy testing and our active involvement in all of the leading committees for creation of regulations for toys, we are the ideal contact for our customers with regard to all questions and requirements placed on those affected by the new toy safety directive," says Karlheinz Hieronymus, responsible for toy testing at TÜV Rheinland LGA Products GmbH in Nuremberg.
Particularly in Asia and Europe, TÜV Rheinland conducts around 100,000 tests and inspections on toys each year. In addition to the classic quality and safety tests and responses to increasing concerns about sustainable product testing, the leading international provider of testing services for toys also offers services in the area of safety evaluations and technical documentation now needed for all market participants.
"For consumers, toy quality and safety increasingly also include the sustainability of the product and the production, reliability in terms of low levels of harmful substances and top-quality products and production conditions. We have competent laboratories in the centres of toy production worldwide, in order to continue to support this very trend," reports Hieronymus. In future, there will still be a great need for action. According to the European Union’s early warning system for dangerous products, RAPEX, the largest percentage of warnings in 2010 continued to be directed at toys. Karlheinz Hieronymus comments: "Our own tests also show time and again that even the minimum legal requirements that apply in Europe are not met on a consistent basis."
The neutral tests conducted by TÜV Rheinland provide increased reliability for manufacturers and trading companies, and the seal of approval from independent testing companies provides consumers in turn with a valuable orientation in the marketplace. In addition to the TÜV seal with the teddy bear to indicate "tested for safety and harmful substances", this also includes the GS mark for tested safety and the "LGA tested quality" mark for verified quality and usability. The test marks are constantly further developed with respect to product innovations as well as new market requirements and general legal conditions.
TÜV Rheinland at the International Toy Fair from 1 to 6 February 2012 in Nuremberg, Hall 11.1, Stand E04/D03
Note for journalists: Filming and interviews at the testing laboratory and at the trade fair
During the International Toy Fair from 1 to 6 February 2012, TÜV Rheinland will offer the press the opportunity to conduct interviews with experts as well as to film and tour the testing laboratories for toys and products (TÜV Rheinland, Tillystraße 2, Nuremberg, 15 minutes away from the trade fair).
Contact: Rainer Weiskirchen, press spokesperson for TÜV Rheinland,
mobile phone: 01 70/7 64 67 33, e-mail:
rainer.weiskirchen@de.tuv.com