WRITTEN QUESTION E-2632/00

by Carlos Lage (PSE) to the Commission

(1 August 2000)

Subject: Marketing of toys contained in foodstuffs

In view of the fatal accidents which have occurred in Portugal and the United Kingdom involving children who have died of suffocation caused by toys or other objects contained in milk powder and chocolate eggs. Can the Commission report on the action taken following the meeting on 16 May 2000 of the Committee on Product Safety Emergencies as regards the need for food products and non-food products to be marketed in separate packaging?

Can the Commission explain why it has not yet proposed any specific action to restrict the indiscriminate sale of food products containing objects, in particular toys?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-2630/00, E-2631/00 and E-2632/00 given by Mr Byrne on behalf of the Commission

(19 October 2000)

The Commission has examined all aspects of the combination of non-food products with foodstuffs with the help of the national consumer protection experts of the Committee on Product Safety Emergencies set up by Council Directive 92/59/EEC

of 29 June 1992 on general product safety(1). On 23 May 2000, the Commission orally communicated the conclusions unanimously reached by the Emergencies Committee (16 May 2000) to Parliament's Committee on Petitions, with written confirmation being provided on 20 June 2000.

Non-food products accompanying foodstuffs, which often take the form of confectionery, are generally separately wrapped toys, that are either complete or to be assembled. Non-food products mixed with foodstuffs are no longer marketed, as a result of action taken by the Member States in response to an emergency notified in 1997 pursuant to Article 8 of Directive 92/59/EEC.

The products in question are not specifically governed by Community legislation. The non-food products concerned (surprise toys) are, however, covered by Council Directive 88/378/EEC of 3 May 1988 on toy safety. Compliance by manufacturers with the safety specifications of voluntary standard EN 71-1 in respect of toys intended for children under 36 months confers a presumption of conformity with the requirements of the Directive.

Over the past fifteen years, three fatal accidents have raised serious doubts with regard to the safety of separately wrapped products. Two of these (Roddy Breslin Northern Ireland, 1985; Jennifer Ashton UK, 1989) were attributed to toys contained in a surprise egg and one (Caren Day UK, 1991) to the packaging of a surprise egg toy. Other accidents have involved toys directly mixed with foodstuffs, although such products can no longer be marketed within the Community.

The three above-mentioned accidents involved children over the age (36 months) at which, according to Directive 88/378/EEC, this type of toy can be assumed to be used safely. The two accidents linked to toy safety occurred before that Directive came into force on 1 January 1990.

With the assistance of the Emergencies Committee, the Commission investigated whether the combination of confectionery with toys involved a specific risk over and above that already posed by toys alone (greater likelihood of ingestion or inhalation of small objects). In the light of available knowledge, the Emergencies Committee concluded that, although the products in question could constitute risks, these were no different from those associated with small toys or any toys incorporating small parts. Combination involving separate wrapping was not identified as a specific risk factor, since a causal link could not be established between, on the one hand, distinctly wrapped toys associated with confectionery and, on the other, an accident risk.

The risk depended on the characteristic features of the non-food product, particularly its reduced size or that of its components or wrapping.

The products in question have not so far been notified under the emergency procedure laid down by Article 8 of Directive 92/59/EEC. Nor has the Emergencies Committee received any information from the Member States suggesting that they constitute a serious and direct risk requiring Community action pursuant to Articles 9 et seq.

Nevertheless, as the three accidents highlighted by the petition demonstrate, these products and small toys in general are not risk-free. The Emergencies Committee decided that the first step in meeting this danger must be to ensure rigorous application of the existing legislation. The need to strengthen existing rules should then be examined within the framework of Directive 88/378/EEC and standard EN 71-1.

This examination should focus, in particular, on the age limit fixed for the safe use of small toys and toys incorporating small parts, the testing of such toys and consumer warnings.

Lastly, the Committee thought that special attention should be paid to any new developments and information allowing a more precise evaluation of particular risks resulting from the combination of foodstuffs and separately wrapped non-food products.

Such factors should also be carefully considered with a view to determining the need for more specific European standards in respect of this type of product.

The Commission intends to present these conclusions to the appropriate bodies without delay.

(1) OJ L 228, 11.8.1992.