EU revises toy safety standard EN 71-1

On June 27, 2018, the European Organization for Standardization (CEN) released a revised version of the first part of the toy safety standard EN71-1, EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018. This revision includes safety requirements for projection toys, safety requirements for toy ropes, and other content. 

1. Pull the rope 

The revised section includes the safety requirements for ropes and drawstrings of toy clothing in EN 14682. These requirements apply to clothing that may become tangled during children's exercise. The requirements of EN 14682 adopted by the standard apply to all cable ties, except for those that are prone to breakage under a force of 25N. 

In addition, explanations regarding ropes were clarified, such as: 

——How to define the risk of strangulation if there are two ropes on the toy? 

——What is the difference between rope, ribbon, strap, or rope? 

2. Projection toys 

The changes regarding projection toys in EN 71-1 include: 

——The kinetic energy density allows for higher velocities of projectiles with larger impact areas; 

——Exclude objects with a flight distance less than 300 millimeters; 

——Adopt ASTM improvisational projection requirements.
 
In addition, requirements have been established for projectiles propelled by elastic bands (which were previously not within the standard range), and rotors and propellers for flying toys such as toy helicopters and toy drones have also been specified

New requirements have been put forward. 

3. Other 

Other revisions include: 

——Clarify the plug requirements for water toys and inflatable toys; 

——Specification for impact testing equipment used to coordinate testing performance; 

——Clarify hinge line requirements.

After the revised content is accepted by the European Commission, it will become a mandatory requirement.