Amoruso, I

Baldo, V

Baldovin, T

Bertoncello, C

Bolzonella, U

Buja, B

Cocchio, S

Mafrici, Sf

Amoruso I

Bolzonella U

Mafrici SF

Bertoncello C

Cocchio S

Buja B

Baldo V

Baldovin T

Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Università di Padova

DANGEROUS PLAYTIMES: MICROBIOLOGICAL HAZARD POSED BY SOAP BUBBLESAND OTHER AQUEOUS MEDIUM CONTAINING TOYS.Amoruso I, Bolzonella U, Mafrici SF, Bertoncello C, Cocchio S, Buja B, Baldo V, Baldovin TCopyright © 2020 University of Padua – DCTV – Lab. Hygiene and Applied MicrobiologyAuthors contact: tatjana.baldovin@unipd.it; irene.amoruso@unipd.itBackgroundChild toy safety usually focuseson chemical, physical andelectrical hazards.Microbiological risk is mostlyneglected and only a few studiesaddressed this concern.Toys containing aqueous mediaare especially at risk of microbialcontamination, straight fromtheir manufacturing, sincepolluted water was reportedlyused in the process.Hereby we present a brief insighton the last 10-years alerts inEurope and suggests a coreprotocol for the assessment oftoys microbial safety.MethodsReviewed regulations: European Toy SafetyDirective 2009/48/EC; Relevant Standard EN 71-3; International standard ISO8124 - Safety of Toys.The European Rapid AlertSystem (RAPEX) was searched for“microbiological risk” alerts inthe “toys” product category, overthe years 2009-2019.ResultsThe query provided 124 alerts, allfor toys containing aqueousmedia.Soap bubbles accounted for 77%of them and were almost theunique toy category recorded formicrobiological risk until 2013.Retrospectively, soap bubblealerts surged (25 notifications)during 2013.In 2012 literature reported howthree kids got hospitalized afterplaying with a soap bubble toycontaminated with Pseudomonassp.Other toy categories were: fingerpaints, squeezable toys, fun-modelling clay.ConclusionsAlthough evidence supportsmicrobiological risk in this kindof toys, only vague legislationrequirements have beenimplemented.In our opinion toys should becompulsory tested beforeobtaining the well-known CEmark, especially if they areintended to be used inpediatric hospitals (e.g. clowntherapy, distraction frompain).Core quality indicatorparameters could be: TotalMesophilic Viable Count <100CFU/mL and absence ofPseudomonas aeruginosa.

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DANGEROUS PLAYTIMES: MICROBIOLOGICAL HAZARD POSED BY SOAP BUBBLES AND OTHER AQUEOUS MEDIUM CONTAINING TOYS.

DANGEROUS PLAYTIMES: MICROBIOLOGICAL HAZARD POSED BY SOAP BUBBLES AND OTHER AQUEOUS MEDIUM CONTAINING TOYS.

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Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Università di Padova