– Daddy… What’s sticking out of this teddy`s a…?
– Stasiek !!! How do you talk ??
– …another side at the bottom?
– Oh… I’m sorry for yelling at you. That’s a tag with the CE symbol on it.
– What’s the CE symbol?
– It’s a confirmation that this teddy bear isn’t dangerous for you.
– Do plush teddy bears bite too?
– No, that’s not it. This teddy bear could, for example, be made from some dangerous material, or it could be flammable, or it could contain small parts that a child could swallow. And that’s why before such a toy is put on the market, it has to be checked for safety. And the CE mark confirms that safety.
– Who checks that?
– It’s the manufacturer’s obligation to conduct appropriate tests and issue a special document called a „declaration of conformity”. And then this declaration of conformity is checked, for example, by a customs officer who clears these toys through customs if they are being imported from abroad.
– And what if there’s no declaration or CE mark, then what?
– Then the goods can be stored in temporary storage or customs warehousing, and the CE mark can be added to the goods or other necessary actions taken before customs clearance; or simply return the goods to the sender. In any case, such toys cannot be distributed.
– Daddy… why don’t the toys at our kindergarten have these CE marks?
– Maybe you’d like to go get ice cream?
Author: PS
