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From manufacturing to points of sale through import channels. The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF) carried out an investigation into the entire toy marketing chain in France. Useful a few days before Christmas.

According to this survey, more than 2,000 establishments were inspected, revealing anomalies on nearly 700 toys analyzed in the laboratory, almost one in two (47%) presented non-conformities and one in five was declared dangerous ( at least 20% of cases).

The main dangers identified

The main dangers concerned:

• the presence of small detachable elements;
• access to soft toy stuffing;
• accessibility of button batteries.

So many elements which notably increase the risk of suffocation if swallowed.

The authors also noted the flammability of certain disguises or the presence of dangerous chemical substances, such as phthalates in plastic toys or lead in imitation leather plastic…

Toys purchased online particularly affected

E-commerce platforms presented particularly worrying rates:

• 79% of toys inspected were non-compliant;
• 36% presented dangers.

In total, more than 225,000 dangerous toys were destroyed and 202 recalls were published on the Rappel Conso platform.

How to choose a toy safely?

To reduce the risk, several essential points should be checked:

• check that the toy bears the “CE” marking;
• carefully read the warnings on the packaging (in particular respecting the notice “Warning! Not suitable for children under 36 months 'three years')”;
• for young children, favor simple mechanisms. In particular, avoid toys that have folding mechanisms (which increase the risk of pinching or cutting);
• Pay attention to toys that have batteries or a transformer allowing an electrical connection. Vintage toys, for example, are very fashionable, but some may not comply with current safety requirements;
• be careful with toys with magnets (which can come loose and be ingested);
• check if the toy is not the subject of a product recall on the RappelConso website.

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