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Christmas is fast approaching and toy manufacturers are multiplying products for toddlers. Sometimes with health risks for babies. Indeed, scented stuffed animals contain odorous molecules that can cause allergies or sensitize babies to these substances.
More stringent regulations
The regulation of scented toys changed this summer with the addition to the prohibited list of three new substances, from July 5, 2022. Atranol, chloroatranol and methyl carbonate heptin (smell of violet). They are thus added to the long list of 55 substances already prohibited in games and toys for children.
In addition, 70 other fragrant substances likely to cause allergies will have to be reported when incorporated into children’s toys.
The list of allergenic fragrance substances (benzyl cinnamate, citronelol, limonene, etc.) whose presence must be indicated on the game, or on an attached label, or on the packaging when they exceed a certain threshold in the toy or its components, is also supplemented by a list of additional substances: (camphor, menthol, vanillin, eucalyptus leaf oil, rose flower oil, lavender oil, turpentine for the best known). The list includes as many substances of natural origin as synthetic
Scented stuffed animals that will have to say that they are potentially allergenic
This concerns scented stuffed animals, the most famous of which are in the form of fabric pastries (sweet muffin pups, normally from 3 years old). They are also found on online natural product sales sites. Some offer stuffed animals impregnated with essential oils, lavender for example, to help babies fall asleep.
Lavender growers are concerned that the mandatory statement that lavender can cause allergies will deter manufacturers from using it. There are petitions circulating that anchor their arguments on the tradition and protection of lavender cultivation.
Babies have immature respiratory systems
Allergists and pediatricians warn parents. there are potentially harmful effects on the health of their toddlers. The perfumes inhaled by the small immature bronchi of babies sensitize them to allergens. And when the allergic march is underway, repeated asthma and rhinitis will punctuate the child’s growth. More than the inhalation of fragrant substances, there is above all the contact of the latter on the skin. Babies develop infinitely debilitating contact dermatitis as they grow up, which manifests itself in continuous crying and insomnia. The softness of the comforters that the baby can cuddle can turn into a nightmare. Some manufacturers have reacted to baby detergents by removing fragrances. For soft toys in the crib, which he rubs once morest his face, it should be the same.
“There is great concern regarding the higher rates of scent sensitization among young children, compared to teenagers. This can be attributed to the current greater exposure of infants and children to scented products,” underlines a study conducted by the Department of Clinical Allergology in Krakow.
Illustration Freepik
Go further :
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22462439/
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/loda/id/JORFTEXT000021923175/2022-07-05
https://oasis-allergie.org/2019/03/02/les-cosmetiques-bebe-et-le-jeune-enfant/
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