Germany plans baby toy phthalates ban Germany is planning to ban the production and sale of PVC baby toys containing the chemical softeners phthalates, it has emerged.
Today is the deadline for stakeholders to submit views on a health ministry proposal for a ban.
The plan will be discussed with other ministries before an official government proposal is published. This could happen within weeks, according to one observer, though a ministry official declined to confirm the likely time-scale for a decision. If Germany goes ahead with the ban, it will join five other EU countries that are introducing unilateral bans on phthalates in the absence of coordinated action from the European Commission. Germany is the EU's largest member, and, as a heavily-industrialised country, often seen as eager to protect the interests of chemical manufacturers. He explained that action from the Commission could take years to emerge whilst validated methods for calculating safety limits for levels of phthalates leaching into babies' saliva from the toys were developed.