CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

EU: CEN publishes EN 14350:2020 for Children's Drinking Equipment

JUNE 2020 – RELEVANT FOR: TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

The European Committee for Standardisation (CEN) published EN 14350:2020¹ for children’s drinking equipment on 3 June 2020. This new standard supersedes EN 14350-1 General and mechanical requirements and EN 14350-2 Chemical requirements. All safety requirements and test methods are now consolidated into one single standard.

By 30 June 2021, the new standard should be implemented at national level by publication of an identical national standard or by endorsement, and the conflicting national standards must be withdrawn. The new standard is expected to be published on the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) as harmonised standard under general product safety directive 2001/95/EC.

EN 14350:2020 specifies safety requirements relating to the materials, construction, performance, packaging and product information for drinking equipment intended for children of 0 to 48 months of age. The covered products include re-usable or single-use containers and drinking accessories, as well as single-use or ready to use feeding teats. 

Comparing to EN 14350-2:2004, the major changes for chemical requirements are as follows: 

1.  Added four new requirements of formaldehyde, colour fastness, primary aromatic amines, migration from glass and metal. 
2. Revised the number of migratable elements from 8 to 19 with reference to EN 71-3.
3. Updated limits of two existing chemicals and added four new chemicals under antioxidant release test.
4. Deleted Bisphenol A (BPA) since it has been regulated in food contact regulation (EU) 10/2011 which applies to baby drinking equipment. 
5. Updated the test method for volatile compounds content.

In addition to the chemical changes, there are also many changes to definition, warning, physical and mechanical (P&M) requirements comparing to EN 14350-1:2004. The changes include additional five figures of different items of drinking equipment and their design features, new tests for protective covers and push-pull valve, update on sample preparation for P&M tests, new clause on information required in test report, etc.

[1]  EN 14350:2020