The European Union has taken new measures for children's products containing lead. The European Commission Regulation 2015/628, which limits the amount of lead in products, officially came into effect on June 1, 2016 and has been included in the REACH Regulation on the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals.

According to the regulation, items or parts of items that children can put in their mouths must not be placed on the EU market if their lead content exceeds the minimum limit of 0.05%. It should be pointed out that the term "children" in the regulations refers to the group at high risk of lead exposure, namely children aged 6 to 36 months old; 'Can be placed in the mouth' refers to an item or item component with a length, width, or height of less than 5 centimeters on any side, or with removable or protruding parts of the same size attached. The regulated items include items intended for consumer use that may be put in the mouth of children, such as clothing, shoes, related accessories, interior decorations, sports and leisure items, and stationery.

Upon reviewing the Rapid Notification System for Non Food Consumer Goods (RAPEX) of the European Union in the first half of the year, it was found that a total of six batches of products exported to the EU were recalled due to excessive lead content in their products or components, involving various types of consumer goods such as wooden toys, bracelets, and metal beads. Not only did the companies suffer losses, but also "Made in China" was criticized. The Trade Service Center also learned that for these recalled enterprises, the fundamental reason for the inability to release their products is the lack of timely tracking of updates to foreign regulations and inadequate research on regulations.

The inspection and quarantine department reminds that in order to maintain good product quality and cope with the technological barriers of developed countries with strong capital and skilled attitude, the above-mentioned enterprises exporting to the EU should carefully study the new regulations. Any products that are not included in the exemption list and can be put into the mouth of children under normal or reasonably foreseeable circumstances, with lead content equal to or exceeding 0.05% by weight, containing lead or lead compounds, will be banned. On the other hand, relevant legislative departments should also refer to foreign standards and regulations, gradually improve the domestic regulatory system, and raise the manufacturing threshold of products in order to fundamentally implement the "going global" strategy.