Warning about some LED toys. According to the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), the European standard on toy safety does not currently guarantee eye protection for children, which requires its review.
Many of these objects (stuffed animals, dolls, drawing tablets, trucks, spinning tops, or even light-up board games) contain LEDs, which emit blue light. This light can affect the retina and alter biological rhythms, including sleep, if exposed in the afternoon and at night.
“Children whose eyes do not completely filter blue light are especially sensitive to these risks”underlines, in a statement, the ANSES, recalling that it has warned since 2010 about the effects of LEDs on vision.
At the request of the French Ministry of Health, ANSES examined the new version of the European standard on the safety of electric toys, updated in 2020. After examining the new protocol to verify the eye safety of toys containing LEDs, it concludes that “The revised version does not guarantee compliance with the limit values that guarantee the protection of children’s eyes”.
ANSES has identified “several errors” in the scientific study on which the protocol is based, errors “which can cause toys declared compliant to exceed exposure limit values”according to the press release.
More toys would have failed with the 2005 standard
It also carried out tests with a sample of nineteen LEDs contained in toys available on the market. They have “confirmed that the 2020 version of the standard is less protective than the previous one, from 2005: eight of the toys tested could not have been marketed with the 2005 version of the standard, because they exceeded safety requirements, compared to only one with that of 2020”details the agency.
“Given the health problems associated with children’s exposure to excessively high levels of blue light and the importance of the standard to ensure the safety of the toys sold”ANSES recommends starting ” quickly “ a review of the corresponding section of the European regulations. In the meantime, he recommends temporarily returning to the 2005 version to check the eye safety of the toys in question.
To protect children from these risks, ANSES also reminds that it is advisable to limit exposure to blue or white LEDs, and avoid luminous toys two hours before bedtime, so as not to alter biological rhythms and falling asleep.
