Harmful Toys Find Market in Serbia

As Balkan Insight has learned from the Serbia’s National Association of Consumers, NOPS, Serbia has become a dumping spot for a number of hazardous toys rejected in the EU as unsafe, as existing laws on product safety are not properly enforced.

“The situation is unlikely to change any time soon as an article in the law says that Serbia will only have to withdraw all products that Europe declared unsafe once we [Serbia] join the European Union,” the NOPS source said.

She noted that a number of toys that have been rejected by EU regulators could still be found on store shelves in Serbia, including the puzzle boards.

The soft boards are often used in kindergartens and at homes as a space on which children play. The boards, which look like puzzles, have been found to contain formamide, which can enter a child's body through the skin or  by breathing the particles released as the children play on the toy. The puzzles were put on the EU RAPEX list of unsafe products for this reason.

Maja Tadic, editor of Bebac, a daily portal for parents, has also warned that there is a risk of choking, as the boards can break into small pieces which children can swallow.