Switzerland Revised the Toy Ordinance by Adopting EN 71 Safety of Toys

In December 1^st, 2016, Switzerland revised their Toys Ordinance (Regulation of the Federal Department of Home Affairs on the Safety of Toys) to strengthen the requirements for toys. The revised ordinance takes parts of EN 71. Switzerland follows EU legislation. But Switzerland is not a member of the EU, so there are still differences for regulations between them when Switzerland follows EU legislation.

The new law will be effective on May 1^st, 2017 but all the toys which are in accordance with the old standard still can be sold in the market until 4 30^th, 2018. After that date, all the new products should follow the new toy test and certificate as new regulation requires.

All the new laws of Toy Ordinance will be into Swiss national law for toy safety. There are several revised details from the former regulations. 

• Alignment of language for consistency with the language used in the TSD.
• Clarifying the list of products that are not considered as toys in Annex 1.
• Clarifying the requirements for physical and mechanical properties falling under the specific safety requirements for toys in Annex 2.
• Clarifying the general requirements for chemicals falling under the specific safety requirements for toys in Annex 2.
• Additional requirements for activity toys and functional toys.
• New definition for chemical toys, aquatic toys, olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games.
• Updating the list of harmonized SN EN 71 standards for presumption of conformity with the Swiss Toys Ordinance, VSS.
• Restricting formamide, BIT, CMI, MI and the mixture of CMI and MI in the ratio of 3:1 in specific materials in toys for children under 36 months or toys intended to be placed in the mouth.

At the same time, this revised ordinance also regulates certain chemicals derived from Annex XVII of REACH, including: Benzene, Phthalates and Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).