Toy safety tips from Customs to parents

Parents should be aware of the potential hazards of festive toys and take heed of the warnings and the usage instructions on the toys, a spokesman of the Customs and Excise Department warned today (December 14).

With the approach of Christmas, the Customs and Excise Department conducted spot checks on toys retailers. Officers sent 24 different types of toys for safety test by the Government Laboratory. The samples included puzzles, Christmas play figures, balloons, poppers, toy whistles, toy cars, drawing boards, toy guns, plastic toy noses, animal toys, bubble play sets, projectile toys, toy planes and clay toys.

Test results showed that the samples met the safety requirements. Only three toys failed to meet the identification marking of the Toys and Children's Products Safety Regulation (TCPSR) made under the Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance (TCPSO).

To maintain toy safety in the market, the department conducts surprise checks on retailers and draws samples for safety tests.

From January to November, Customs conducted 1,100 spot checks on the safety of toys. In these spot checks, 41 items, including bathing toys, toy boats, bubble making toys, bicycles, face paints, frisbee toys, party toys, stuffed toys, toy cars, twist spheres and wooden craft construction kits failed to comply with the requirements under TCPSO and TCPSR.

Some of these items failed to comply with the safety requirements concerning structure, such as sharp points, sharp edges, heavy metal, crevices, stability and package film and some of them also failed to comply with requirements of identification marking under the TCPSR.

In the same period, 14 toy suppliers were prosecuted, and 102 toy suppliers were served with written warnings for supplying toys which failed to comply with the requirements under TCPSO and TCPSR.

Parents should heed these toy safety tips:

• Pay attention to age recommendations on labels when choosing toys and never choose toys for children under 3 years of age which are suitable only for children over 3;
• Make sure to read and follow all instructions on the toys;
• Keep small balls and marbles out of children's reach since they are particularly dangerous to children aged under 3;
• Tiny toys and toys with small, removable parts, might be swallowed, inhaled or might choke a child to death;
• Beware of moveable segments that might pinch or crunch fingers;
• Take note that some clay toy sets, bubble guns, sand painting toy sets, toy planes and toy swords might contain sharp points and edges causing a laceration hazard to children;
• Beware of the paint on toy sets that might contain an excessive level of lead, which is harmful to children's kidneys;
• Do not let children put a sound-producing device close to the ears;
• Keep deflated balloons away from children and discard broken balloons at once as children under 8 can choke or suffocate on swallowing deflated or broken balloons;
• Make sure batteries in toys are properly installed and not accessible to a child. It is dangerous to mix old and new batteries, or to mix alkaline with carbon-zinc batteries, or rechargeable with non-rechargeable batteries;
• Dispose of all 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.

To report unsafe toys and children's products, consumers can call the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or write to the Consumer Protection Bureau, Customs and Excise Department at 11/F, North Point Government Offices, 333 Java Road, North Point.

Ends/Monday, December 14, 2009