Safety of toys
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment is responsible for the regulation of toy safety. The provisions on toy safety lay down general safety requirements for the mechanical, physical, chemical and electrical properties of toys and their flammability. They also lay down cleanliness and hygiene requirements for toys.
The decrees issued on the basis of the legislation contain more detailed requirements concerning toy safety, warnings and labelling. With these provisions Finland has incorporated the Toy Directive (2009/48/EC) into its legislation.
In addition to the Toy Directive, the following statutes also contain provisions important for the safety of toys:
- Act on the Safety of Toys (1154/2011)
- Government Decree on the Safety of Toys (1218/2011)
- Decree of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment on Certain Chemical Requirements for Toys (1352/2011)
The provisions on the supervision of consumer safety laid down in the Consumer Safety Act are applied to the supervision of compliance with the provisions on toy safety. The supervision of toy safety is the responsibility of the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency and the Finnish Customs.
The representatives of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment take part in the work of the Standing Committee of the European Commission, which discusses issues concerning the Toy Directive, and in the work of other European cooperation bodies such as the Toy Safety Expert Group.
Further information: emilia.tiuttu(at)gov.fi