UK: New regulation for chemicals in toys

 

The United Kingdom has published new Toys and Cosmetic Products (Restriction of Chemical Substances) Regulations 2022.

These measures will amend the Toys (Safety) Regulation 2011 as applicable in GB (“the Toys Regulations”) and the Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009 as applicable in GB (“the Cosmetics Regulations”) as they apply in England, Wales and Scotland.

They will amend permitted levels of certain chemicals in both the Toys Regulations and the Cosmetics Regulations. They will amend the Toy Regulations, to reduce the permitted limits of aluminium, aniline and formaldehyde as well as including provisions on three allergens used in fragrances, under the list of prohibited allergens in toys. Also the Cosmetics Regulations will be amended to permit the use of salicylic acid for uses other than as a preservative only in specific product types, prohibit the use of deoxyarbutin and a set of chemicals classified as Carcinogenic, Mutagenic or Reprotoxic (CMR) under GB Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) Regulations.

The Toys Regulations and the Cosmetics Regulations both contain technical annexes that establish limits and prohibitions on the use of specified chemicals. The Government has powers to amend the various annexes when certain conditions are met. The objective of the measure is to amend the permitted use of specific chemicals in order to ensure that only toys and cosmetics products that are considered safe can be placed on the GB market.

A shorter entry into force period is necessary to avoid potential negative impacts of the use and limits of certain chemicals currently used in some toys and cosmetics. A longer delay is a potential risk to human health. The measure requires amending the technical annexes of both the toys and cosmetics regulations to either amend the permitted level of use of a specific chemical or prohibit its use.