A toy is defined as any product produced or intended for use by children with playful purpose. However, in order to ensure the safety of consumers under the age of 14, mandatory legislation has been established to ensure children safety, in particular the EN 71 Directive.

The EN 71 Directive establishes a set of specific safety requirements, namely in terms of physical and mechanical properties (EN 71 – Part 1), flammability (EN 71 – Part 2) and chemical properties (EN 71 – Part 3). For this purpose, laboratory tests are carried out in order to ensure that the toy complies with all the requirements.

The EN 71 – Part 1 establish that toys and their components must have mechanical strength and stability in order to withstand any pressures without breaking or causing deformations to avoid or minimize possible physical damage. Toys or their packaging may not represent any risk of strangulation or suffocation. In this context, toys designed with sound should ensure the maximum levels of impulsive and continuous noise, so that children’s hearing capacity is not damaged.

The flammability analysis of toys – EN 71 – Part 2, indicates that they must consist of materials which do not burn when directly exposed to a flame, spark or other potential fire source and must be difficult to ignite. However, if they ignite the propagation must be slow.

According to EN 71 – Part 3, toys shall not present a risk of adverse effects on human health due to exposure to chemical substances or mixtures, in compliance with the applicable legislation of these compounds.

All toys must accomplish the specifications of the EN 71 Directive to ensure that they do not present any insecurity to children and they can play happily.