- The Consumer Council (CC) supports adopting updated international safety standards for toys and various children’s products so that the local safety requirements will be in line with international standards that are adopted by major economies.
- CC notes that the proposed updates are applicable to toys and children’s products including children's high chairs and multi-purpose high chairs for domestic use, children's paints, playpens for domestic use and wheeled child conveyances. It aims to strengthen the requirements and enhance the safety of these products and to keep up with international development.
- A previous test report on children’s high chairs published by CC in 2017 revealed that certain models available in the market posed a risk of finger entrapment and failed to comply with the relevant European safety standard (BS EN 14988-1:2006 + A1:2012). In light of these findings, CC supports the adoption of the latest international standards to further safeguard young children by clarifying key term definitions. CC also welcomes the tightening of requirements on Chromium VI compounds and aluminium to enhance the chemical safety of these products.
- CC also carried out testing project in crayons and fingerpaints in 2021 and found that some of the tested crayon models were detected with high levels of migratable Aluminium and thus failed to comply with the European toy standard (EN 71-3). Moreover, 4 out of 7 tested fingerpaint models failed to comply with European toy standard (EN 71-7) due to the absence of embittering agent, which may increase the risk of young children ingesting the paint during play.
- In addition to the toys and children’s products covered in this update, CC conducted chemical and microbiological safety tests on modelling dough and clay in 2025. The results indicated that certain models contained EU-restricted preservatives (CMIT/MIT), which may cause allergic reactions in young children during play. Accordingly, CC recommends strengthening safety standards for children by considering the incorporation of additional chemical requirements from the EU Toy Safety Directive, such as restrictions on preservatives and flame retardants.
- With respect to the current scope of children’s products regulated under the Safety Ordinance, CC has conducted compliance testing on children’s shoes and children’s raincoats. The results revealed elevated levels of phthalates in certain models. Given that these products are frequently used by children, CC recommends that they be incorporated into the Safety Ordinance to strengthen regulatory safeguards and mitigate exposure to hazardous chemicals among young children.
- CC therefore considers that adopting the updated international standards to improve the safety in these toys and children’s products will provide better protection to young children.
- The corresponding consumer complaint statistics are provided below for reference:
Year/Product
2023
2024
2025
(January - November)
Toys
291
317
230
Children Products
53
42
34
December 2025
Consumer Council
