Dec 18, 2021 Welcome back to UHC’s House Call on WDTV. Children’s toys manufactured or imported on or after February 28, 2018, must be tested and certified to meet certain safety standards. Joining us tonight is Dr. Whitney Courtney, family medicine physician and faculty at UHC Family Medicine, for our second installment on Toy Safety.
1). What is the toy safety standard?
Most are not aware that toys must meet certain safety standards under the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). In fact, children’s toys manufactured or imported on or after February 28, 2018, must be tested and certified under the ASTM International, which is formerly known as American Society for Testing and Materials. This is The Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Toy Safety, or commonly referred to as ASTM F963-17, and it is a comprehensive standard addressing numerous hazards that have been identified with toys. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) mandated that the voluntary toy safety standard in effect at that time become a nationwide mandatory children’s product safety rule. If you want to view the full standard go to www.astm.org.2). For which age groups are testing certification of toys required?
Toys intended or designed primarily for children 12 years of age or younger must be tested by an accepted testing laboratory and certified by the manufacturer or importer. The law defines “children’s products” as consumer products designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger.3). What about toys that have been recalled?
One of the goals of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is to protect consumers and families from dangerous toys. The CPSC sets up rules and guidelines to ensure toys are safe and issue recalls of toys if a problem is found. Toys are recalled for various reasons including unsafe lead levels, choking hazards, or fire hazards. Toys that are recalled should be removed right away. If you think your child has been exposed to a toy containing lead, ask your child’s doctor about testing for elevated blood lead levels. For more information on toy recalls go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission website at www.cpsc.gov/recalls.This content was originally posted on the WDTV News website here.
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