Today, the European Commission and the SCHEER^[1] launch a public consultation on the preliminary opinion on tolerable intake of aluminium in order to determine the acceptable levels of aluminium counts in toys, as set down in the Toy Safety Directive (2009/48/EC).

Interested parties are invited to submit comments about relevant scientific evidence online before 10 September 2017.

The Commission has requested SCHEER to review the currently available data on the toxicity of aluminium, taking into account the acceptable levels established by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2008 and by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) in 2011.

The preliminary Opinion presents recommendations for a tolerable intake level for aluminium based on most recent data, including exposure to aluminium from sources other than toys. The Opinion sets the tolerable daily intake from toys at 2250 mg aluminium/kg of dry, brittle, powder-like or pliable toy material, 560 mg aluminium/kg of liquid or sticky toy material, and 28130 mg aluminium/kg of scraped-off toy material.

The SCHEER also noted that exposure to aluminium from sources others than toys, in particular from diet, may already exceed the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake (PTWI) reference value derived by JECFA. Therefore, the SCHEER recommends that the additional exposure from toys should be minimised.

More information

• on the work of the Commission's independent scientific committees

^[1] Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER)