Serbia has published a set of rules for toy safety to ensure a high level of protection of human health. Toys have until November 9, 2020 to conform with the new requirements.
In November 2019, Serbia published its Rule Book on Toy Safety (Official Gazette of RS No. 78/2019) to lay down rules on the safety of toys and their free movement on the market. The safety requirements are modeled on Directive 2009/48/EC on toy safety (Toy Safety Directive, TSD, consolidated version to November 2019 for reference) from the European Union.
According to the definitions in the Rule Book, toys are products designed or intended, whether or not exclusively, for use in play by children under 14 years of age.
The Rule Book contains, inter alia, provisions for:
- General safety, which must not endanger the health of users and third parties when toys are used as intended or in a foreseeable way by taking into account the behavior of children
- Specific safety, which includes physical and mechanical properties, flammability, chemical properties, electrical properties, as well as hygiene and radioactivity requirements (Annex 2)
- A specific set of restricted substances in Appendix C for toys intended for children under 36 months, or in other toys which are intended to be placed in the mouth
- Exemption on the use of nickel (a carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic category 2 substance, CMR 2 substance) in toys and toy components made of stainless steel, and in toy components that are intended to conduct an electric current
- Rules and conditions for affixing the Serbian mark of conformity. Further information on the Serbian mark of conformity can be found at the Serbian Ministry of Economy website
- Declaration of conformity (DoC) in the Serbian language, including a color image of the toy for clear identification, and references to the harmonized standards applied or to specifications in relation to which conformity is declared (Annex 3)
- Technical documentation (Annex 4)
- Warnings (Annex 5)
- List of Serbian and European standards for toy conformity (Annex 6)
One notable difference between the EU’s TSD and Serbia’s Rule Book on Toy Safety is that toys in Serbia must bear the Serbian mark of conformity. The CE mark can be used in addition to this Serbian mark of conformity. The CE mark will replace the Serbian mark of conformity from the date of entry into force of the Agreement on Conformity Assessment and Acceptance of Industrial Products (ACAA agreement between Serbia and the EU), or if this agreement is not concluded, from the date of entry into force of the Treaty of Accession of Serbia to the EU.
The Serbian mark of conformity is shown below:
The Rule Book on toy safety entered into force on November 9, 2019, and the provisions will become effective on November 9, 2020 (12 months after the date of entry into force).
Highlights of the list of safety standards for toy conformity are summarized in Table 1.
| Item | Serbian Standard | Harmonized European Standard |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SRPS EN 71-1:2018 ‘Mechanical and physical properties’ | EN 71-1:2014+A1:2018 |
| 2 | SRPS EN 71-2:2014 ‘Flammability’ | EN 71-2:2011+A1:2014 |
| 3 | SRPS EN 71-3:2018 ‘Migration of certain elements’ | EN 71-3+A3:2018 |
| 4 | SRPS EN 71-4:2014 ‘Experimental sets for chemistry and related activities’ | EN 71-4:2013 |
| 5 | SRPS EN 71-5:2016 ‘Chemical toys (sets) other than experimental sets | EN 71-5:2015 |
| 6 | SRPS EN 71-7:2018 ‘Finger paints’ | EN 71-7:2014+A2:2018 |
| 7 | SRPS EN 71-8:2018 ‘Activity toys for domestic use’ | EN 71-8:2018 |
| 8 | SRPS EN 71-12:2017 ‘N-nitrosamines and Nitrosatable Substances’ | EN 71-12:2016 |
| 9 | SRPS EN 71-13:2014 ‘Olfactory board games, cosmetic kits and gustative games’ | EN 71-13:2014 |
| 10 | SRPS EN 71-14:2019 ‘Trampolines for domestic use’ | EN 71-14:2018 |
| 11 | Electric toy safety: SRPS EN 62115:2008 SRPS EN 62115 :2008/A2 :2013 SRPS EN 62115:2008/A11:2013 SRPS 62115:2008/A12:2015 | Electric toy safety: EN 62115:2005 EN 62115:2005/A11:2012/AC:2013 EN 62115:2005/A11:2012 EN 62115:2005/A12:2015 |
Table 1
SGS offers a wide range of services to ensure that your products comply with the EU Toy Safety Directive. We offer training, safety/risk assessment, technical documentation check, labelling review, testing according to harmonized standards, SVHC screening, inspections and audits. With the largest global network of toy experts and testing facilities around the world - around 20 toy labs worldwide including 3 EU Notified Bodies (France, Germany and Netherlands), SGS is the partner to trust. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information or visit our website.
For enquiries, please contact:
Hingwo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
t: (+852) 2774 7420
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