Market checks for safe toys ahead of Christmas – What to look out for on labels

by

Before being placed on the market, it must be established that the toys available in EU countries must comply with the requirements of the KYA harmonization in the Greek legislation of Directive 2009/48/EC.

The Christmas and New Year holidays are approaching and the General Secretariat of Industry reminds us of the rules and conditions for the safe placing of toys on the market while underlining that “as the competent supervisory authority for the safety of toys, it carries out regular and extraordinary checks to ascertain their compliance with requirements, at all points of the supply chain”.

As stated in the relevant document, products designed or intended to be used in the context of play by children under the age of 14 are characterized as toys, even if they are not designed exclusively for this purpose.

Before being placed on the market, it must be established that the toys available in EU countries must comply with the requirements of the KYA harmonization in the Greek legislation of Directive 2009/48/EC.

All economic actors in the supply chain from the manufacture of the toy to the consumer’s purchase are responsible for compliance with this directive. The economic operators are: the manufacturer, the importer, the agent and the distributor. Each of them has a different share of responsibility and different obligations.

– A manufacturer is any natural or legal person who manufactures a toy or commissions others to design or manufacture a toy, and markets this toy under his name or trademark.

The manufacturers comply with the obligations of article 5 of KYA 3669/194/2011 and more specifically:

1. They ensure that, when placing their toys on the market, the toys are designed and manufactured in accordance with the “Basic Safety Requirements” of the legislation

2. They have the technical documentation of the product at their disposal and keep it for 10 years after the toy is placed on the market and for the same period they are able to report to the market surveillance authorities the details of each economic operator to whom they have supplied products .

3. Carry out the conformity assessment process themselves or have third parties carry out the conformity assessment process on their behalf (eg carry out the required test reports).

4. They draw up the EC Declaration of Conformity themselves in GREEK language (or in whatever language is required in the country where the product is available).

5. Affix the ‘CE’ marking to the toy in a visible, legible and indelible manner. With the marking “CE”, the manufacturer declares that the product has been designed and manufactured in accordance with the Basic Safety Requirements of the applicable European toy safety legislation.

6. They write on the packaging the details (identity / distinguishing title / trade mark and contact details) of the manufacturer.

7. List some unique identifier of the game (name/type of product/identification number).

8. They list instructions or warnings for safe use in Greek and (and) with pictograms. It is pointed out that products with a different intended use (e.g. collectible figures) which may nevertheless be used as toys due to their attractive appearance to children, carry indications of the restrictions on their use.

– An importer is defined as any natural or legal person established in the EU who places a third-country toy on the Community market. It is noted that the United Kingdom is now considered a third country.

Importers shall place only compliant toys on the Community market and undertake the following:

1. Have the manufacturer’s EC Declaration of Conformity in their possession in paper or electronic form. The declaration of conformity is provided to the competent authorities translated into Greek by an official authority if requested in the context of regular or extraordinary control.

2. To have access (upon request to the manufacturer) to the details of the technical file of the product, mainly to the test reports carried out on behalf of the manufacturer and to provide them to the competent authorities if requested in the context of secondary regular or extraordinary control.

3. To note under the title “importer” or “imported from» the name, the business name them or their trademark and the address at which they can be contacted on the toy or on its packaging (e.g. on a sticker) or in a document accompanying it.

4. To confirm that all the obligations of the manufacturers are observed.

5. Be able to report to the market surveillance authorities the details of every economic operator who has supplied them with a toy and every economic operator to whom they have supplied a toy for a period of 10 years from its supply.

– A distributor is defined as “any natural or legal person in the supply chain, other than the manufacturer or importer, who makes a toy available on the market”.

It is noted that economic entities that procure toys directly from a third country (either through an electronic platform or directly from the manufacturer) are not considered distributors of the products, but importers of them.

The obligations of distributors are:

To confirm that all the obligations of the manufacturers are respected, regarding the “CE” marking in a visible, legible and indelible way, it bears on the package the details (identity / distinctive title / trade mark and contact details) of the manufacturer and the importer when it comes from third country, bears some identifying element of the game (name/type of product/identification number) and instructions or warnings of safe use are written in Greek and/or with pictograms.

In addition, distributors must keep the purchase invoices for a period of 10 years, so that in the event of an audit by our service, the mediation of a representative/central distributor (wholesale)/importer for each product (based on the listed product code and the details of the importer/distributor) in order to apportion responsibility appropriately in case of non-compliance. In the absence of evidence showing the intermediary as a supplier, the responsibility is assumed by the distributor.

It is noted that:

1. Disposing of toys that do not bear the “CE” mark results in the imposition of a fine and the immediate confiscation of non-compliant products.

2. In the event that the importer or distributor makes products available on the market under his own name / trade name or trademark, he is considered a manufacturer and therefore assumes the manufacturer’s obligations.

3. In the event that the economic operator procures toys directly from a third country, either from the physical manufacturer/its central agent or through an online platform, then it assumes the obligations of the importer.

4. In the event that the economic operator procures toys directly from an EU country, either from the physical manufacturer/its central representative or through an online platform, the obligations of compliance with national requirements are assumed on its part (Greek translation of the Declaration of Conformity, the instructions of use/safety information/warnings) in order to make the product available on the Greek market.

5. Based on the existing legislative framework, all economic operators have the obligation to cooperate with the authorities and provide information to the competent agency upon justified request, to assist in the collection of supporting documents such as the EC Declaration of Conformity, to report non-compliant products to the competent authorities as well as to take the necessary actions to eliminate the risks from the games they have made available on the market.

6. Failure to comply with the above requirements for the disposal of the products will result in administrative sanctions for those economic operators who distribute them throughout the supply chain, from import to distribution to the end user.

You May Also Like

Recommended for you