Teething rings

Fig. 49 Relationship d32 =/(Ap) for different emulsifiers. ZKDM-teeth ringed rotor-stator emulsifier, CM - colloid mill, HPH - high pressure homogenizer. Details on the material system in text from [74]...

Special category Food contact materials and articles which are intended to be used during the consumption of food which, according to their intended use, will be put in the mouth. Examples are toys, balloons, nipples, pacifiers, teething rings, and bite protectors. 

Silicone elastomers can be used for paper coatings, nipples, teething rings, seals for baking ovens and refrigerators etc. 

Tape, pressure sensitive (including friction), rubber Teething rings, rubber Thermometer cases, rubber Thread, rubber except fabric covered Tile, rubber Top lift sheets, rubber Top roll covering, for textile mill machinery rubber Toys, rubber except dolls Trays, rubber... 

Health and safety concerns over PVC are mostly due to the possible leaching out of the residual monomer in addition to certain additives and plasticisers used. In this context, there has been a growing concern over PVC toys (pacifiers and teething rings in particular), that these additives can be released into a child s mouth when the toy is chewed. Old vinyl intravenous (IV) bags, as used in hospitals, have also been shown to leach some DEHP plasticiser. It has been shown that there is also a possibility of the residual monomer and other additives migrating into drinking-water from PVC bottles [13], or from PVC water pipes [14, 15]. 

Depending on the application of the toys (e.g., teething rings for babies or toy figures for small children) the proper TPE must be selected from the many different types. Wholesale replacement of soft PVC by a single TPE class is not yet feasible since none of the TPE materials can match PVC s universal properties (Fig. 5). 

Janssen P, van Veen M, van Apeldoom M, Speijers G Phthalates in teething rings/animal figures for infants. Advisory report 5293. Brussels, EU Committee Scientific on Toxicity Ecotoxicity and the Environment, 1997. 

Soft PVC toys were subjected to a temporary ban imposed by the European Product Safety Emergency Committee in the autumn of 1999 and periodicaUy renewed. The restrictions were targeted not at PVC itself but at the use of six phthalates (DEHP, DUMP, DBP, DIDP, DNOP and BBP) that were used in toys and other articles likely to be put into the mouth, such as teething rings, by children up to the age of three. The ban was defended as an application of the precautionary principle, i.e., that it is unwise to expect users to wait until exhaustive research... 

Plate 13 The rubber teething ring is bonded into the PVC air bellows with a cyanoacrylate adhesive. Material Permabond C2. 

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