Toy safety tips to parents from Customs

Parents should be aware of the potential hazards of festive toys and take heed of the bilingual choking hazard warnings and the battery usage instructions on the toys, a spokesman of the Customs and Excise Department warned today (December 17).

These toys include toy latex balloon, party toy set, remote control figure, toy helicopter, magical drawing board and battery-operated toys.

The spokesman said that flat or broken balloons, if swallowed, might cause choking hazard to children under eight years old.

Besides, remote control figure, toy helicopter and magical drawing board might contain accessible sharp points causing laceration hazard to children. Incorrect use of batteries in toys might cause injury, such as burning caused by batteries overheating.

In addition, some flexible plastic bags used for packaging of toys might cause suffocation to young children if pulled over the head.

Recently, the Department has conducted 87 spot checks on the safety of Christmas toys at toys suppliers. A variety of 13 samples of toys were sent to the Government Laboratory for safety tests.

Testing results showed that four samples were found to be safe. The remaining nine items failed to comply with the requirements of choking hazard warnings, markings to show correct battery polarity and voltage, identification markings under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance ("TCPSO") and Regulation. However, no structural defect was found.

Below are some toy safety tips for parents:

• Look for labels that give age recommendations when choosing toys;
• Make sure to read and follow all instructions on the toys;
• Keep small balls and marbles out of a child's reach since they are particularly dangerous to children aged under three. Tiny toys and toys with small, removable parts might be swallowed, inhaled or might choke a child to death;
• Keep deflated balloons away from children and discard broken balloons at once as children under eight years old can choke or suffocate on swallowing deflated or broken balloons;
• Make sure batteries in toys are properly installed and not accessible to a child. Besides, it is dangerous to mix old batteries with new ones; or to mix alkaline with carbon-zinc batteries, or rechargeable with non-rechargeable batteries;
• Dispose of all the unused plastic bags for packaging of toys and children's products, as plastic bags might suffocate young children; and
• Pay attention to the usage instructions of the toys that are only used under direct supervision of an adult; and the toys with functional sharp points or cutting edges.

From December 2003 to November 2004, Customs conducted 1 039 spot checks on the safety of toys. In these spot checks, 25 items of toy, including party toy set, toy rocket, figurine toy, stuffed toy, floatation toy, yo-yo ball, magical drawing board, water gun, toy jewelry, toy meal set, battery-operated toy lantern and light stick, and Halloween toys, were found failing to comply with the requirements under TCPSO.

These items failed to comply with the requirements of choking hazard warnings, safe battery usage instructions, identification markings and bilingual safety warnings or cautions under TCPSO.

It was found that the colour on a party toy set including a mask and a whistle was with excessive lead content of 620mg/kg and 300mg/kg respectively, which exceeded the safety standard of 250mg/kg.

In the same period, three companies and one person were prosecuted, and 210 toy suppliers were served with written warnings for supplying toys which had failed to comply with the requirements under TCPSO.

The spokesman appealed to members of the public to call Customs hotline 2545 6182 to report suspected unsafe toys or children's products.

Ends/Friday, December 17, 2004