While performing toys testing, METS Lab regulatory experts verify the design, safety and quality of a variety of toys and child care products with innovative assurance, testing, inspection and certification services, we test the quality of toys and children products through chemical testing, Design Review and Evaluation, Endurance and performance testing, Flammability Testing, Mechanical and physical Testing, Battery Testing, safety testing and more.
Enhance your companies brand value and competitive advantage with toy safety certification services from METS Lab. We provide testing services for toys and recreational items to help you avoid costly product recalls, build greater customer confidence, and protect your Brand reputation, METS Lab expertise helps major brands and retailers ensure the quality and safety of their toy imports including children’s toys, recreational items and electric toys.
Sharpe edge and sharp pani verification
Pull test on small part, pull test on seams, stuff checking for the plush toy, metal detection test, Dynamic and static standards test, tensile force, Dynamic and status custom tests, strength test, durability test, colour resistance to saliva and perspiration, function and performance of product, working distance check for remote control toys, frequency check fir electronic toys, Humidity test for the wooden toys and so on
METS Laboratory ensure that your toys and child care article items meet the standard and regulations of your destination market with global experience in quality testing, we keep up with the current state of toy safety regulations around the world so you don’t have to our experts help you determine which tests you need based on your product type and destination market. We provide testing services for toys and recreational items to help you avoid costly product recalls, build greater customer confidence, and protect your brand reputation. Along with toys testing, we also provide microbiological test analysis. The EN-71 standards apply to toys that are intended for children up to the age of fourteen. EN 71 has specifics sections covering the suitability of toys for various ages, including a range of notifications for toys that are unsuitable for children under three years old.
The legislation is divided into several sections covering various aspects of safety, and those are :
EN-71-1 Safety of toys – Part 5: Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets
Mechanical and physical tests as well as its requirements for toys is specified under this standard. The test include torque test, tension test, drop test, tip over test, impact test, compression test, soaking test, accessibility of a part or component, sharpness of edges, sharpness of points, flexibility of wires, expanding materials, leakage of liquid filled toys, geometric form of certain toys, durability of mouth-actuated toys, folding or sliding mechanisms, electric resistivity of cords, cord thickness, static strength, dynamic strength, stability, strength of swings and similar toys, kinetic energy, plastic sheeting-dimensions, borosilicate glass, openings in climbing frames and similar toys, diameter of ropes and chains for swings, brake performance, emission sound pressure level, speed of electrically driven ride-on toys, elevation in temperature, durability test for vertically opening hinged lids on toy chests, small balls test, test for play figures, strength of toy scooter steer tubes
EN 71-2:2020 Safety of toys – Part 2: Flammability
This standard category flammable materials which are banned in all toys, and cited the requirements regarding the flammability of certain toys when they are subjected to a small source of ignition. Moreover, it recommended general requirements relating to all toys and specific requirements and methods of test regarding soft filled toys, toys intended to be entered/worn by a child; which are considered to hazardous.
EN-71-3 Safety of Toys – Part 3: Migration of Certain Elements
This standard stipulated the requirements and test methods for the migration of elements like antimony, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, and selenium from the toy material. ICP-AES can be employed for the determination of the same. Based on the standard the bioavailability of elements migrated should not exceed the limit per day: 0.2 ppm antimony, 0.1 ppm arsenic, 25 ppm barium, 0.6 ppm cadmium, 0.3 ppm chromium, 0.7 ppm lead, 0.5 ppm mercury, 5 ppm selenium.
EN 71-4 Safety of toys – Part 4: Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities.
This standard specifies necessities for the maximum amount or concentration of certain substances and mixtures including colorants and coloring materials, indicators or chemical reagents used in experimental sets for chemistry and related activities.
- Maximum amounts of chemical substances and mixtures for chemistry sets and labelling ranges from 1 to 100 g per set
- Maximum amounts and concentrations of indicators for chemistry sets and labelling is within the range of 1-3 g per set except Iodine (10 ml max per set) and bleeding universal indicator paper (max 1 pad per set)
- Maximum amounts of chemical substances for carbon dioxide generating (citric acid, tartaric acid, malic acid) experimental sets and labelling is within the range 20-100 g per set.
- Maximum amounts of chemical substances for crystal growing sets (ammonium chloride, citric acid, copper (II) sulfate, iron (II) sulfate, sodium silicate, strontium aluminate, tartaric acid) and labelling ranges from 5-600 g per set
- Maximum concentration of reagents not supplied with the chemistry set and labelling includes Ammonia solution (2 mol/L), Hydrochloric acid (2 mol/L), Hydrogen peroxide (1 mol/L), Sodium hydroxide solution (1 mol/L)
- Density of borosilicate glass using pycnometer
EN 71-5 Safety of toys Part 5: Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets.
- Basic chemicals in water-based adhesives as food contact
Acrylic homo and copolymers, hydrophilic polyurethane containing neither free isocyanate-
groups nor aromatic amino-compounds, Polymers and copolymers of monomers, Polyvinyl homo and copolymers, Poly(vinyl alcohol), Polyvinylpyrrolidone homo and copolymers. The basic materials shall be appropriate for food contact (see [9]). The migration solvent shall be water,
grade 3 according to EN ISO 3696. The contact time shall be approximately 60 min at approximately 40 °C.
- Plasticisers in oven-hardening polyvinyl chloride (PVC) modelling clay sets
The plasticiser content is determined by solvent extraction using a Soxhlet extractor. The Indicative plasticizer is determined via Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform-Infra Red (ATR-FT-IR) Spectrometry and for alkylsulfonic acid phenyl ester and citric acid esters in plasticizer by headspace Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). Adipic acid esters are quantified gravimetrically. The maximum limit for Benzene, toluene and xylene should be 5mg/kg, 15 mg/kg, 25 mg/kg respectively
The maximum content of plasticisers in the mixture shall not exceed 30 %.
The vinyl chloride monomer content shall be below 1 mg/kg
- Styrene content in polystyrene granules via gas chromatography using mass spectrometry
The method is appropriate for the quantitative determination of styrene in an approximate analyte concentration range of (50 to 3 000) mg/kg of polystyrene
- Organic solvents
Solvents are identified either by headspace gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector (HS-GC-FID) using two different columns for comparative identification, or by gas chromatography with a mass spectrometer detector (GC-MS).
Acetone (Dimethyl ketone), Cyclohexane, Pentan-3-one, Ethyl acetate, Ethanol (max 10%), Isopropyl acetate, Propan-2-ol(max 10%), Methyl acetate, Butan-2-one, 3-Methylbutan-2-one, n-Butyl acetate, n-Propyl acetate, 1-Methoxypropan-2-ol (max 20%), 1,1-Dimethoxyethane, n-Hexane (max 0.5%), Petroleum fraction, Hydrocarbons, Propane-1,2-diol (max 10%), 2-Methylpentane-2,4-diol (max 10%), Butan-1-ol (max 2%), 2-Methylpropan-1-ol (max 2%), 1-methoxypropan-2-yl acetate, 3-Methoxybutyl acetate, Butyl glycolate (max 3%), Caprolactam (max 5%), 2-(2-Butoxyethoxy)ethyl acetate (max 3%), Glycerol triacetate, minimum detection limit 0,2 %.
2,2-Bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)propane diglycidyl ether (BADGE), bis(hydroxyphenyl)methane diglycidyl ether (BFDGE) and Novolac glycidyl ethers (NOGE), together with their derivatives shall not be used as modifiers for adhesives
The product contains Petroleum fraction (35 to 160) °C, the viscosity of the product shall exceed 20.5 mm 2 /s
- Plasticisers in solvent-based adhesives and in solvent-based paints or lacquers, film-forming agents in paints and lacquers and modifiers in solvent-based paints or lacquers
Nitrocellulose in solvent-based paints or lacquers is identified by IR-spectroscopy.
Benzene shall not be used in toys or parts of toys greater than 5 mg/kg in the free state
EN 71-7:2014+A3:2020-Safety of toys – Part 7: Finger paints – Requirements and test methods
This part of EN 71 specifies requirements for the substances and materials used in finger paints and applies to finger paints only.
- Colorants- The limit of colorants is in the range form 0-1% (max). It can be analysed by using HPLC-DAD or LC-MS/MS
- Preservatives- Maximum allowed concentration ranges from 0.0015% to 2 %
- Migration of elements-Antimony (max 10 mg/kg), Arsenic (max 10 mg/kg), Barium (max 350 mg/kg), Cadmium (max 15 mg/kg), Chromium (max 25 mg/kg), Lead (max 25 mg/kg), Mercury (max 10 mg/kg), Selenium (max 50 mg/kg). The migration of elements can be determined by employing ICP-AES or ICP-MS
- Primary aromatic compounds shall not be detected. The analysis can be performed using HPLC/DAD or GC/MS
- Taste and smell-Finger paint shall not be sweetened or flavored, the concentration of ethanol should be less than 0.5%. The concentration of ethanol can be detected by employing GC-FID
- pH- should be in the range from 4-9 and determined using a pH meter
EN 71-8:2018 – Safety of toys – Part 8: Activity toys for domestic use
The standard specifies requirements and test methods for activity toys often attached to or incorporating a crossbeam, and similar toys intended for children under 14 years to play on or in and often intended to bear the mass of one or more children. It deals with the parameters like assembly of toys, static strength, maximum height, corners edges and protruding parts, diameter of rope or other suspension, water accumulation, requirements for barriers, hand rails and ladders, entrapment (head neck, feet, hair, clothing and fingers), stability (slides, swings, activity toys with cross beams and see saw), static strength of paddling pools.
EN 71-9:2005-Safety of toys —Part 9: Organic chemical compounds —Requirements; EN 71-10:2005 – Safety of toys – Part 1 0: Organic chemical compounds – Sample preparation and extraction and EN 71-11 Safety of toys – Part 11: Organic chemical compounds- Methods of analysis
- Flame retardants should not be detected in Toys worn over the mouth or nose (Tri-o-cresyl phosphate and Tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate which can be detected by using LC-MS/MS
- Colorants (HPLC/DAD or LC-MS/MS), primary aromatic amines (GC-MS), wood preservatives, plasticizers (GC/MS), should be absent in specific toys according to its application.
- Monomers like Bis Phenol A (0.1 mg/l), Formaldehyde (2.5 mg/l), Phenol (15 mg/l) and styrene (0.75 mg/l) should be limited and analyzed by employing GC/MS and HPLC/DAD. Formaldehyde can be detected by employing ultraviolet (UV) spectroscopy at a wavelength of 410 nm
- Organic solvents through migration should limited in the range from 0.06 to 2 mg/l while solvents through inhalation can be limited between 200 µg/m 3 and 5 000 µg/m 3 according to its toxicity. They can be detected via GC/MS or LC-MS/MS, for volatile solvents can be determined by employing headspace-GC/MS
- Preservatives like free formaldehyde should be limited to 0,05 % and it can be analyzed by employing HPLC-DAD
EN 71-12:2016 – Safety of toys – Part 12: N-Nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances
This test method specifies the requirements and test methods for N nitrosamines and N nitrosatable substances determined via High performance liquid chromatography apparatus coupled with tandem mass spectrometry equipped with atmospheric pressure ionization (APCI)
- Finger paints
N-nitrosamines in finger paints shall not exceed 0,02 mg/kg calculated as sum of all detected N-nitrosamines
N-nitrosatable substances from finger paints shall not exceed 1 mg/kg of toy material, calculated as sum of all detected N-nitrosamines after nitrosation.
- Elastomers
N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances should be limited to 0.01 mg/kg and 0,1 mg/kg respectively for toys intend toys intended for use by children under 36 months and intended or likely to be placed into the mouth. In rest of the applications, N-nitrosamines and N-nitrosatable substances should be limited to 0.05 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg
EN 71-13:2021+A1:2022- Safety of toys – Part 13: Olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games
- Olfactory board games and supplementary sets for olfactory board games shall not contain the allergenic fragrances, the presence of traces of these fragrances is permitted provided that such presence is technically unavoidable under good manufacturing practice and does not exceed 100 mg/kg per fragrance
- The maximum flammable liquid content of a container in cosmetic kits and gustative games shall not exceed:
- 10 ml for liquids having a flash point < 23 °C and an initial boiling point > 35 °C;
- 30 ml for liquids having a flash point ≥ 23 °C and ≤ 60 °C.