• St. Nicholas Day is over, but Christmas is coming. Check whether the toys you buy as gifts are safe.
• The President of UOKiK together with the Trade Inspection inspected over 200 toys of various types including dolls, balls, slingshots and bows. Experts verified whether these toys are properly labelled and do not put the youngest consumers at risk.
• Watch the video and see how to choose a gift for your child.

The President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection aims to supervise the market and ensure the Polish consumers only receive products that meet the essential requirements. Experts inspected over 200 toys – nearly half of them were incorrectly labelled, 19 contained unacceptable phthalate concentrations, and 20 had excessively high levels of heavy elements, i.e. boron or cadmium. The extent of irregularities varied depending on the type of product, ranging from 35 percent to 80 percent. The greatest percentage of questioned products included slime toys known as "slimes" – due to insufficient labelling and exceeded migration limits for heavy elements. The lowest number of discrepancies was found in projectile toys - bows, slingshots, guns (35% percent  of all checked).

Most of the products were sent for laboratory testing. Some of them were found to be particularly dangerous – they were incorrectly designed, e.g. had too much impact force or there was a risk of small parts detaching which could result in choking. Some toys were chemically unsafe - their parts contained excessive levels of harmful chemicals.

- There are still toys on the market that pose a risk to the health and life of the youngest users. We withdraw such products from the market immediately. "We make every effort to ensure that consumers only have access to safe products", said UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.

INSPECTION RESULTS - PRESENCE OF PHTHALATES IN TOYS

Overall, the Trade Inspection questioned 36 out of 102 toy models - 35%

The most frequently questioned were formal defects, i.e. lack of data identifying the entities responsible for placing the toy on the market (manufacturer and importer) and incorrect declaration of conformity.

19 out of 100 toy models failed laboratory tests -19%

The actions taken by the President of UOKiK and the Trade Inspection are producing the intended result - the percentage of toys with phthalates decreases every year.

Phthalates -They are used to soften plastic and make it flexible.

Their permissible content is 0.1 per cent of the toy weight. Concentrations higher than that are dangerous to health - they can cause fertility problems, pose a risk of kidney or liver damage, asthma, and even cancer development.

The biggest irregularities:

PHTHALATE CONCENTRATION

diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP) at (27.5±4.5) % in a ball - 2740 times exceeded

bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) at (36.9±2.2)% in a doll head - 3690 times exceeded

dibutyl phthalate (DBP) at (16.2±2.7) % in a ball - 1620 times exceeded

Most often, impermissible levels of phthalates have been found in soft doll parts (e.g. head, hand).

INSPECTION RESULTS - SLIME TOYS

A total of 25 out of 31 toy models were questioned - 80%

The most frequently questioned were formal defects, i.e. incorrect declaration of conformity, lack of warnings or lack of their translation into Polish.

20 out of 30 models failed laboratory tests - 67%

The highest exceedance of cadmium, selenium and strontium was found in a single sample of a slime toy ("Gadżet rozrywkowy SLIME", item No. 30 on the attached list of tested toys).

INSPECTION RESULTS  - PROJECTILE TOYS: BOWS, RIFLES, GUNS

A total of 14 out of 40 toy models were questioned - 35%

The most frequently questioned were formal defects, i.e. lack of a warning informing not to aim at the face or eyes.

6 out of 40 models failed laboratory tests - 15%

Excessive projectile force that can lead to injury; Detachment of small parts from projectiles that can cause choking or suffocation.

Failure to provide the required warnings means that consumers are not properly informed about the hazards of using the toy and how to avoid them.

INSPECTION RESULTS - EXPANDABLE WATER TOYS: EGGS, ANIMALS

Overall, the Trade Inspection questioned 27 out of 37 toy models - 73%

The most frequently questioned were formal defects, i.e. incorrect instructions or lack of their translation into Polish, lack of manufacturer and importer data

The share of questioned toys remains the same as in 2020.

15 out of 37 toys failed laboratory tests- 40.5%

INSPECTION RESULTS - EXPANDABLE WATER TOYS: EGGS, ANIMALS

It is difficult to verify by yourself whether this type of toy complies with current standards for increasing its volume in water.

Pay attention to the instructions included with the toy. Follow the manufacturer's recommendations.

Make sure that your child does not put such toys in their mouth.

When an egg, capsule or animal swells inside a toddler's body, it can obstruct the respiratory or digestive system.

Results of inspections

Once we identified the irregularities, businesses took corrective action, such as filling in labelling gaps, withdrawing non-compliant toys from the market, and informing users of the irregularities found.

Tips

Before you buy a gift for a younger household member, make sure the product meets the requirements and does not put them at risk. Visit the websites that collect data on non-compliant products detected by market surveillance authorities in the European Union:

•        Safety Gate – RAPEX (https://ec.europa.eu/safety-gate-alerts/screen/webReport) and

•        ICSMS (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/icsms/public/productSearch.jsp?locale=pl).

Report the unsafe product to the Trade Inspection, whose details can be found on the  UOKiK's website, and notify UOKiK via a special form.

Download inspection reports and lists of toys with detected irregularities:

- toys that may contain phthalates, list of products

- slime toys, list of products

- projectile toys – bows, guns, rifles, list of products

- expandable water toys, list of products

WHEN YOU BUY

SOUND TOYS – remember that sounds that are too loud cause damage to hearing. Such a toy cannot be used close to the ears. Check whether the toy has a warning that it should not be used indoors.

PROJECTILE TOYS – ensure that arrows and projectiles have soft rubber suction cups or other protective end-pieces to prevent injury. Remind your child not to aim at the eyes or head.

Dear parent, watch the video and see what to consider when choosing toys.

https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/424025827?embedded=true&source=video_title&owner=24940845

You can receive free consumer guidance at:

• Consumer Helpline – for simple matters without analysis of documents, phone numbers: 801 440 220 and 22 290 89 16.
• Consumer E-Advice Centre – [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE].
• Consumer Ombudsmen in your city or county -  www.uokik.gov.pl/rzecznicy.php.
• Voivodeship Inspectorates of Trade Inspection – www.uokik.gov.pl/wiih.
• European Consumer Centre – for cross-border cases involving retailers in the European Union, the United Kingdom, Norway and Iceland. Website: https://konsument.gov.pl/

For more information, visit www.prawakonsumenta.uokik.gov.pl.

Consumer assistance:

Call: 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer hotline
E-mail: [SCODE]cG9yYWR5QGRsYWtvbnN1bWVudG93LnBs[ECODE]
Consumer Ombudsmen – in your town or county
Trade Inspection – in your voivodeship

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: [SCODE]Yml1cm9wcmFzb3dlQHVva2lrLmdvdi5wbA==[ECODE]
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL