During the summer, inspectors from the Swedish Chemicals Agency visit markets around the country, such as outdoor markets and street markets, to inspect jewelry and toys.
These are two product groups that often contain substances that they should not or where we find shortcomings in the labelling. Children and young people use such things a lot, says Robert Ljunggren, inspector at the Swedish Chemicals Agency.
The final analyses will come later, but there are already things to pay attention to.
Preliminary, it looks like there are a few more shortcomings at the markets than we see in regular online stores.
The substances most often found in jewelry are lead, cadmium and nickel.
In soft plastic toys we find banned plasticisers, phthalates. In electrical toys we also quite often find lead in solder, for example on the circuit board.
Children more sensitive
The substances can cause allergies, affect reproductive ability and, in some cases, increase the risk of cancer.
It is rarely acutely dangerous, but the problem is if you are exposed for a long time and are exposed to the substances from different sources. Children are generally more sensitive, so putting a piece of jewelry in their mouth, sucking on it or swallowing it can be dangerous.
Previous audits have shown that around 40 percent of the jewelry checked and close to 100 percent of the piercing jewelry contained prohibited substances.
Trending toys are investigated
According to the authority, many trendy toys are also sold at markets. During the summer, inspectors have come across suspected pirated copies of the popular Labubu dolls.
Another trendy toy that, according to Robert Ljunggren, has likely also made an appearance at the markets is squishy dumplings, a product that is currently being investigated more closely within the EU.
They can smell strongly, like gasoline. We don't know what it is that smells like that at the moment, it is an ongoing issue in several EU countries where samples have been sent for chemical analysis.
However, the sense of smell alone is not enough to determine whether a product contains prohibited substances, but it can be a help along the way.
If soft plastic toys smell bad or are sticky, it's a warning sign, and you might want to buy something else instead.
Be aware of very low prices, especially when it comes to trendy products. The Swedish Chemicals Agency generally sees more defects in cheap products.
Check the labels carefully. There are labelling requirements for toys, so look for the CE marking and the name of the manufacturer.
Buy authentic jewelry first, or choose branded jewelry over unbranded jewelry. Don't sleep with fake jewelry, especially earrings.
Watch out for soft plastic toys that smell bad or are sticky. Also be careful with slime and cheap electronic products from unknown sources.
Source: Robert Ljunggren, Swedish Chemicals Agency
