At the time of back -to -school races, the stationery rays are filled with colorful pens, scented gums and glue tubes. But some products sometimes hide health risks. The DGCCRF (repression of fraud) has just published a worrying assessment: nearly 1 article in 2 controlled was non -compliant, and several were even deemed dangerous.
These pens and highlights represent a risk for your children
Check a pen, sniff glue or cover the ink hand of marker: these harmless gestures for students, can expose to harmful chemicals. Between 2023 and 2024, investigators analyzed 31 school supplies. Result: 14 non -compliant products, 9 of which have a real health risk.
Some contained phenoxyethanollikely to cause serious ocular lesions, of Propan-1-olirritating for the eyes, or the octylisothiazolinonea compound that can lead to skin and toxic to the marine environment. These substances have notably been detected in yellow and orange highlights.
The risk is all the higher for young children, who often carry their supplies to their mouths.
Falsely green gums removed from the market
Another problem: labels. Some manufacturers have forgotten to indicate danger mentions, or have used pictograms that are too small to be readable. Worse still, some glues or gums displayed deceptive environmental promises such as “biodegradable” or “without harmful substance”, when this was not the case. These misleading practices, which surf the ecological sensitivity of consumers, can mislead families.
Thousands of school supplies withdrawn from the rays due to toxic substances
Faced with these risks, the repression of fraud did not hesitate to act. In Île-de-France, more than 66,000 highlights, 18,000 corrective pens and 6,000 pens have been removed from the shelves. Some products have even been the subject of reminders of consumers, such as highlights Expertiz Sold at Aldi in 2023, or permanent cultura markers in 2024.
In total, the DGCCRF has drawn up 39 warnings, 15 injunctions and 3 minutes. The Consumer Code provides for severe sanctions: up to 7 years’ imprisonment and € 750,000 fine if the deception leads to a danger to health.
How to avoid unpleasant surprises?
For parents as for students, vigilance is in order. Here are some useful reflexes recommended by the DGCCRF:
- Read the labels carefully and locate danger pictograms;
- Be wary of too beautiful mentions to be true, as “ecological” or “risk without risk”;
- Regularly check product reminders on the official Reminderconso website.
By carefully choosing supplies, we protect not only the health of children, but also that of the environment.