Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     Following is a question by Professor the Hon Chow Man-kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (July 16):

Question:

It has been reported that certain toys (e.g. slime, powerful magnetic beads and toy aqua beads, etc.) pose potential safety hazards. For instance, in 2023, there were 6 000 cases of children seeking emergency medical treatment in the United States (US) due to the inadvertent use of toy aqua beads, and there was even a 10-month-old infant found dead as a result. In Hong Kong, there are also numerous cases in which the unsafe toys have endangered children’s health. Regarding toys safety, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) in each of the past five years, of the number of (i) proactive inspections (both online and offline) conducted by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) for the purpose of enforcing the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Cap. 424) (the Ordinance), (ii) reports received and their details (including the names of the substandard toys seized in enforcement actions and their hazardous nature), (iii) prohibition notices served on retailers and wholesalers, and (iv) cases of conviction for contravening the Ordinance and the penalty imposed in each of such cases;

(2) whether it has compiled statistics, through channels such as schools and the number of visits to accident and emergency departments, on the number of cases involving Hong Kong children suffering from suffocation, acute toxicity and injury due to the inadvertent use of toys in each of the past five years; if so, of the details of each case (including the age of the children involved, the names of toys and whether they have been put on the C&ED’s list concerning “cases of unsafe products” (“the list”), as well as the follow-up actions taken by the C&ED; if not, whether it will consider establishing a notification mechanism to ensure that all the stakeholders (especially parents and teachers) will stay timely informed of toy safety incidents which involve significant social interests and children’s safety;

(3) given that according to a test report published by the Consumer Council in August 2019, the boron migration of 12 models of slime or putty toys exceeded the recommended upper limit of the European standard, and prolonged exposure to or indirect excessive intake of the substance may result in vomiting or even affect one’s fertility, whether the authorities have prohibited the local sale of relevant toys associated with health risks since the publication of the report; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) it is learnt that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission intended to impose more stringent regulation on toy aqua beads last year, and members of the public can still purchase such toy aqua beads and other toys on the list through online or offline channels at present, whether the authorities will consider stepping up the regulation of the safety of relevant products as well as banning local sale of certain toys which have caused fatal accidents overseas; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply

President,

     The Government attaches great importance to ensuring the safety of toys and children’s products and regulates the safety of toys and children’s products which are manufactured, imported or supplied for local consumption, in accordance with the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (the Ordinance) (Cap. 424).

     The Ordinance stipulates that a person must not manufacture, import or supply a toy unless the toy complies with all the applicable requirements contained in one of the toy standards (which are international standards or standards adopted by major economies) specified in Schedule 1 to the Ordinance. A person who contravenes the above provision is liable to a maximum penalty of imprisonment for one year and a fine of $100,000 on first conviction and is liable to a maximum penalty of imprisonment for two years and a fine of $500,000 on subsequent conviction.

     The Government keeps in view any amendments to the relevant safety standards so as to update the standards applicable to the toys and children’s products supplied in Hong Kong.

     Moreover, the Toys and Children’s Products Safety (Additional Safety Standards or Requirements) Regulation (the Regulation) stipulates that a toy supplied in Hong Kong must comply with the requirements including the carrying of identification markings (i.e. the full name and address of the manufacturer, importer or supplier) and the bilingual warnings or cautions (with respect to the safe keeping, use, consumption or disposal) applicable to the toy; and the compliance with the requirements on concentration of phthalates contained in a toy.

     As the enforcement agency of the Ordinance, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) proactively conducts surveillance in the market and online shopping platforms. Having conducted risk assessment, the C&ED will test-purchase different types of toys and children’s products and pass them to the Government Laboratory for safety tests. Besides, the C&ED will conduct investigations into the complaints received and the cases referred from relevant government departments or organisations and take appropriate enforcement actions based on facts and evidence. In addition, the C&ED will actively follow up information about suspected unsafe toys and children’s products obtained from different sources such as media coverage and measures taken by the Mainland or overseas places against certain toys and children’s products; and the news about product safety issued by law enforcement agencies and institutions of product safety outside Hong Kong.

Having consulted the C&ED, our reply to various parts of the question is as follows:

(1) From 2020 to 2024, the C&ED received 68 complaints in relation to toys, conducted more than 7 920 surveillance visits or spot checks and investigated 127 cases. During the above period, the C&ED prosecuted individuals or companies involved in 14 cases. All defendants, including eight persons and six companies, were convicted and fined by the court, with the amount ranging from $3,000 to $32,000. The toys involved in these cases were lanterns, glow sticks, heart-shaped fluorescent toys, projectile toys, puzzle toys, expanding bead toys, squeeze toys, magnetic toys, joint mats, bubble toys and microphone toys. Furthermore, the C&ED issued 32 prohibition notices to prohibit related persons from supplying products that were believed to be unsafe for a specified period of time; and issued 94 warning letters. Meanwhile, the C&ED also conducted 45 blitz checks at boundary control points to combat the import of unsafe toys and children’s products into Hong Kong. The relevant figures categorised by year are listed in the table in the Annex.

(2) Currently, the C&ED did not compile statistics on cases involving children suffering injuries resulting from the use of unsafe toys through channels such as schools or the number of visits to accident and emergency departments. For cases referred by the relevant government departments or organisations, the C&ED will conduct follow-up investigations as and when appropriate.

All along, the C&ED has attached great importance to disseminating information about toys safety to the public and traders through various channels, including:
 

• if any toys with safety issues are identified during investigations, a press statement will be published immediately; and after completion of the investigation, the relevant information will be included in the “cases of unsafe products” in the C&ED’s webpage;

• striving to carry out compliance promotion for traders to assist the traders in understanding the relevant toy safety requirements of the Ordinance; and

• organising with the Department of Health toys and children’s products safety talks for the public and for students and parents in schools; and distributing pamphlets about the Ordinance, introducing and sharing safety information of toys and children’s products.

     The C&ED has no plan to establish a specific notification mechanism.

(3) In the testing report published by the Consumer Council in August 2019, the boron migration level in some of the samples of slime or clay toy exceeded the suggested safety limit of the European Standard. Upon receiving the referral, the C&ED immediately conducted surveillance visits in various districts and test-purchased four different brands of slime or clay toy from the market for safety testing. Test results showed that all the samples complied with the safety standards stipulated in the Ordinance. However, the C&ED found that one sample of slime failed to comply with the identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions requirements and was suspected to be in contravention of the requirements of the Ordinance. Immediate enforcement action was taken against the retailer concerned and a written warning was subsequently issued to the said retailer.

(4) Under the Ordinance, manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of water-bead toys are required to ensure that their products comply with all the applicable requirements contained in one of the three toy safety standards specified in Schedule 1 to the Ordinance (i.e. the International Standard ISO 8124, the European Standard BS EN 71 and the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard ASTM F963).

     The C&ED has noted that the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering more stringent regulations for water-bead toys, although these more stringent regulations have not yet been implemented by law. The Government will continue to closely monitor any new requirements for toys safety standards from law enforcement agencies and institutions of product safety outside Hong Kong, and will revise or update the Schedules to the Ordinance as and when appropriate.

At present, for water-bead toys suspected to be unsafe, the C&ED has actively conducted inspections and test-purchases in various districts to assess their safety, with a view to ensuring that both imported and locally supplied toys have reached a reasonable standard of safety. From 2020 to 2024, the C&ED conducted 29 inspections or targeted spot checks on water-bead toys, received three complaint cases related to water-bead toys and initiated two investigations. In one case, a person was fined in court for supplying water-bead toys exceeding the expandable limit of the safety standard and without bearing the identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions. In another case, a written warning was issued to a company supplying water-bead toys without bearing the identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions.

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