Toys must pass safety standards, but stamps missing

Toy shops are still selling products with no stamp to confirm that they meet safety standards, ignoring Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) regulations. Most sellers don’t know about the stamps, others just don’t care.

MST has ordered that, from April 15, all toys for sale must have a stamp on safety standards. These stamps will affirm that the toys, both domestic and imported, can meet safety requirements, such as pH level or formaldehyde content. Nguoi Lao Dong investigated, finding toys without stamps yesterday, April 15.

Binh Tay Market toy stores are full of Chinese products like robots, plastic dolls and aircraft. Prices range from several thousand dong to hundreds of thousands of dong. All the items, however, share one thing in common: no labels in Vietnamese. Some small in nylon packages had no labels to show their origin.

One toy store owner admitted that most toys were smuggled goods and there were very few available products from prestigious manufacturers.

When reporters asked to purchase safe toys, the seller replied that he has never heard about toys with such stamps.

Journalists found the same situation in Da Nang. All toys at Han and Con Markets, the two biggest markets in the city, have no safety standards stamps, only small white labels stating “Made in China.”

When asked what he knows about the new MST regulations, a toy stall owner of at Han Market was very surprised, having never heard about the regulations.

In Hanoi, the scene is also the same. No one can find toys with these stamps on the popular toy streets, Luong Van Can and Hang Ma.

Minh, an owner of a toy shop on Luong Van Can street, admitted that she and other owners have heard about the new law, but she has not seen any toys with these stamps.

She added that she does not care much about the stamp, because such stamps are the job of government agencies or manufacturers, not hers. She claims she is just a retailer.

Meanwhile, Veesano, a toy manufacturing company, knows about the MST regulations and meeting requirements on product safety. A representative claimed that he has not seen any detailed guidance about the stamp process.

Not only toy sellers, but Binh Tay Market management board’s members, whom Nguoi Lao Dong contacted, are in the dark. The market management taskforce also maintained that they have not heard about such a regulation.

Nguyen Nho Hau, Deputy Head of Da Nang Market Management Sub-department, complained that his department has not received any guidance documents about how to deal with toys with no stamps nor about safety standards.

Nguoi lao dong

Tags: Vietnam toys market