Beware! Children's crawling mats are found to contain excessive amounts of formamide! How should parents choose?

Xinhuanet recently reported a piece of news: out of 10 models of children's floor mats tested, 6 products had formamide content exceeding the standard, with the highest exceeding the standard by as much as 17 times.

The formamide content in 6 types of floor mats exceeded the standard of 200mg/kg stipulated in the group standard for safety requirements for children's floor mats. This exceeding rate of more than half makes us very worried.

In fact, as early as 2015, the Jiangsu Quality Supervision Bureau (now the Jiangsu Market Supervision Bureau) issued a quality analysis report on the risk monitoring of children's safety floor mats. It conducted a series of spot checks on 120 batches of children's floor mats on the market, and CCTV also made a special report based on this.

The formamide indicator was included in the spot check at that time. Among the 120 batches sampled, 46 batches had formamide content exceeding the reference Taiwan standard requirements, accounting for nearly 40% of the total number of spot checks, and 5 batches of products had content exceeding 1000mg/kg.

We also issued a risk warning for the children's floor mat problem that year, when Dad Review was only established for a few months. Later, we were invited to participate in the meeting to formulate such group standard projects, but for various reasons, the matter was finally left unresolved. Unexpectedly, nearly 5 years later, the same problem appeared before us again.

About children's floor mats Children's floor mats are actually what we often call crawling mats.

It originated in Japan. Due to living habits, Japanese people are used to sitting on the floor. Using floor mats can avoid sitting on the floor or tiles and avoid being directly exposed to cold. It was not until the 1980s that it gradually entered the Chinese market.

With the popularity of floor mats and the improvement of technology, printed and laminated floor mats can be colorful and cute, which are very popular among children. In addition, they are easy to store and clean, and they are comfortable and soft. Children are not easy to bump into them when playing on them, which is also the favorite of many parents.

Currently, there are two main types on the market: splicing type and integral type. The main materials are EVA, PE (such as EPE, XPE), PVC and other materials.

About formamide: Formamide, which was exposed, is a solvent, also called amino formaldehyde, which is often used as a reducing agent and industrial chemical.

Adding formamide to foam plastic products can make the plastic foam, reduce production costs, increase the flexibility of plastic products, and make them less likely to break. However, like formaldehyde, it has a very slow and long volatilization process.

According to EU Regulation EC No.1272/2008, formamide is classified as a Category 1B reproductive toxicant, and the damage it causes to children is irreversible.

Toxicological studies on formamide have confirmed that the substance can be absorbed into the body through the respiratory tract, digestive tract and skin mucosa; animal experiments have shown that the animal nervous system, vascular system and liver are damaged to varying degrees, which will reduce the animal's reproductive capacity and the survival rate of the offspring.

In addition, formamide will release ammonia when exposed to high temperatures, which can cause damage to the eyes and skin mucosa in large quantities. The European Chemicals Agency has included formamide in the list of substances of very high concern (SVHC-Substances of Very High Concern).

How to identify crawling mats of different materials? There are many kinds of materials for crawling mats. We have compiled a table for you to take a look at.

Originally, EVA, PE and other raw materials are safe, but the addition of foaming agents during the subsequent foaming process leads to the presence of a large amount of formamide. Crawling mats made of PE materials such as XPE basically do not require the use of foaming agents such as formamide during the foaming process. Those with more formamide are basically made of EVA.

How to distinguish EVA and PE materials? Here is a method that can be distinguished with naked eyes.

The stitching type can be distinguished according to the cross-section of each piece of the mat. The ones with small pores and are relatively compact are generally made of EVA material.

The middle layer of the mat is white and has larger pores, and is generally made of PE.

The overall style can be judged based on the actual photos in the product details page and comments, or you can consult the merchant to confirm. Currently, the overall style crawling mats on the market are mostly made of XPE material.

How should parents choose crawling mats? When problems occur, they always have to find ways to solve them.

Here are some suggestions for choosing and using crawling mats. I hope they can help you.

Try to choose crawling mats made of PE materials such as XPE and EPE, and mainly in solid colors.

If you have a baby in the oral stage at home, try not to choose a patchwork type of crawling mat, as the baby will pick at and bite the crawling mat.

If you accidentally buy an EVA crawling mat, it is recommended to dry it outdoors for about a week to promote the volatilization of formamide and reduce its content.

If the product details page or instructions say that the material is foam, it is most likely EVA material. It is recommended to communicate with the merchant in advance to confirm.

If the surface film of the crawling mat is severely damaged, it is recommended to replace it in time.

You can also refer to the above 5 points when selecting large foam building block toys.