Safety of Toys with Magnets

In April 2022, the European Commission launched a control campaign (CASP 2022) concerning the compliance and safety of toys with magnets present on the European market. The main goal was to ensure that non-compliant and/or dangerous products were taken off the market.

Belgium participated in this campaign and published its results in a report. The report also contains some tips and recommendations for economic actors.

Advice to Economic Actors

• Be aware of your obligations under applicable law. Take all necessary precautions to ensure that the products are fully compliant with the Toys Safety Directive and remove non-compliant products from sale.
• Verify warnings, markings and instructions. Age warnings must be correct. Toys clearly designed for children under 36 months of age must meet the requirements of this category.
• Whenever possible, use magnets with a magnetic flux index of less than 50 kG²mm². If magnets with a magnetic induction flux greater than 50 kG²mm² are used, make sure they are large enough or add a piece of plastic/wood/other material around the magnet (which will pass the torsion/tensile/drop/compression tests) to obtain a larger magnet that does not fit fully into the cylinder of the small elements.
• Additional risks of magnetic toys should be clearly identified and communicated to consumers where appropriate (e.g. for magnetic/electrical test kits).
• Take into account that neocubes are considered toys and must therefore comply with the Toys Safety Directive.