Science group claims the European Committee for Standardisation's report is full of inconsistencies

Science group claims the European Committee for Standardisation's report is full of inconsistencies

A European Union science group has attacked the European Committee for Standardisation (CEN), claiming that CEN’s report on the organic chemical health risks associated with toys contains “numerous inconsistencies and errors”. In a note to the European Commission, which had originally ordered the report, the EU scientific committee on toxicity, ecotoxicity and the environment (CSTEE) has recommended the report is not used in an ongoing assessment of EU toy safety.

The criticism is especially embarrassing given that the CEN had been asked last year to write standards on safety requirements for the migration, release or content of certain hazardous organic chemical compounds from toys and toy materials and the analysis of samples. Other attacks levelled by the CSTEE included a “lack of clarity…as to why some chemicals are excluded” from the study, notably some phthalates “known to be used in toys (currently or in the past)” such as DINP, DEHP and DIDP. Although this omission was mentioned in the CEN report’s summary, the CSTEE said it was “not justified”.

The CSTEE also attacked the report for identifying hazards associated with toys, rather than assessing the risk of children using them – a key distinction in the risk industry.