Toys and Children's Products Safety

The Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance, Chapter 424, Laws of Hong Kong stipulates the statutory safety standards to regulate the safety of toys and children's products which are manufactured, imported or supplied for local use or consumption.

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Advice to Traders

Under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance, a toy or children"s product manufactured, imported or supplied for local consumption must comply with the general safety requirement and each additional safety standard. A toy is regarded as complying with the general safety requirement if that toy complies with all the applicable requirements contained in one of the three sets of toy standards as list in Schedule 1 to the Ordinance.
A children"s product is a product or material that :
- falls within a class of products set out in column 1 of Schedule 2 ("Schedule 2 product") and its packaging; or
- is neither a toy nor a Schedule 2 product and is intended to facilitate the feeding, hygiene, relaxation, sleep, sucking or teething of a child under 4 years of age and containing any plasticized material ("other children"s product").
The 12 specified Schedule 2 products are regarded as complying with the general safety requirement if that Schedule 2 products comply with all the applicable requirements contained in any one of the corresponding Schedule 2 product standards listed in Schedule 2 to the Ordinance.
The Toys and Children"s Products Safety (Additional Safety Standards or Requirements) Regulation requires that:
- The concentration of phthalates
  - The total weight of the Class 1 phthalates¹ in a toy or children"s product intended to facilitate the feeding, hygiene, relaxation, sleep, sucking or teething of a child under 4 years of age and containing any plasticized material must not exceed 0.1% of the total weight of the plasticized materials in that toy or children"s product.
  - If a toy, a children"s product intended to facilitate the feeding, hygiene, relaxation, sleep, sucking or teething of a child under 4 years of age and containing any plasticized material or its part(s) can be placed into the mouth of a child under 4 years of age, the total weight of the Class 2 phthalates² in the toy, children"s product or such part(s) must not exceed 0.1% of the total weight of the plasticized materials in that toy, children"s product or such part(s).
- Identification markings and Bilingual warnings or cautions
  The identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions must be legibly marked in a conspicuous position on a toy or children"s product, its packaging, a label securely affixed to it or its packaging, or a document enclosed in its packaging :
  - Identification markings
    The information including the full name, trade mark or other identification mark and the local address of the manufacturer, importer or supplier of a toy or children's product must be legibly marked in either Chinese or English language or in both languages; and
  - Bilingual warnings or cautions
    Any warning or caution with respect to the safe keeping, use, consumption or disposal of a toy or children's product must be given in both English and Chinese languages.
It shall be a defence for a person to show that he has taken all reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing an offence, such as obtaining from the supplier a certificate issued by an approved laboratory showing that samples of the product before being sold have complied with the relevant safety standard or specification.
This Department organizes education-oriented seminars on products safety for traders engaged in the importing, wholesaling and retailing of toys, children's products and consumer goods.
For the operation of the Regulation, please refer to Guidelines for Toys and Children"s Products Safety (Additional Safety Standards or Requirements) Regulation.
Note :
1. The Class 1 phthalate means benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP), dibutyl phthalate (DBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP).
2. The Class 2 phthalate means diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP), diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP).

Advice to Consumers

Consumers should take heed of the warnings and the usage instructions on the products concerned and observe if there are any structural defects, such as sharp points, sharp edges, crevices, instability etc.

There are some safety tips on selecting and playing toys:

pay attention to the age recommendations on labels. Never choose toys which are suitable only for children over 3 years old for those under 3;
read and follow all instructions on the toys;
keep away from young children small balls and marbles which are particularly dangerous to children under 3 years old;
do not choose tiny toys and toys with small, removable parts, which may be swallowed and/or inhaled by children;
beware of some moveable segments which may pinch or crunch fingers;
check clay toy sets, bubble guns, sand painting toy sets, toy planes and toy swords which may contain sharp points and edges;
ensure that paint on toy sets does not contain excessive level of lead;
do not let children put a sound-producing device close to their ears;
discard deflated balloons and broken balloons can cause choking or suffocation to children;
make sure batteries in toys are properly installed and not accessible to children. It is dangerous to mix old and new batteries, alkaline with carbon-zinc batteries or rechargeable with non-rechargeable batteries; and
dispose of all unused plastic bags for packaging toys and children's products, which may cause suffocation.

There are some safety tips on selecting and using children"s products:

select Bisphenol A and Phthalates free plastic feeding bottles and teats; and
select plastic feeding bottles and teats coming with explicit instructions for use and follow them.

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