Saturday, April 23, 2011

Allergy related Toy Certification Marks must be validated and have a sound basis in science

Many doctors, nurses and asthma educators deliberate parents to remove stuffed toys from the bedroom of children with allergies and asthma. Additional advice of the like kind as wash them regularly and be shy of toys with fabrics that have harsh chemicals is also given. This leaves parents in a dilemma and confused at the time deciding which toys are suitable to pervert with money for children. The asthma & allergy mutually kind™ logo programwas set up to pulley this issue.

 

Stuffed toys are an established reservoir for house dust mites. The kindred between house dust mite allergens and asthma has been comprehensively reviewed and published in reports from the ‘International Workshops in Allergens and Asthma'. The Workshops' participants were experts invited from around the world to discuss prior study in this field, to formulate recommendations as antidote to allergen-specific management of asthma, and to mind future research directions.  

 

The report of the 3rd International Workshop in Indoor Allergens and Asthma declares that "appropriate standards on account of products marketed for allergen avoidance, should be developed by industry or consumer agencies". The allergen avoidance mart is ever enlarging but "currently there is little or no regulation governing claims."

 

Increasingly to improve textile performance a number of chemicals are things being so used in the industry. It is recognised that respiratory part disorders and certain skin problems have power to be influenced by a number of factors with chemical exposure triggering symptoms by the one and the other irritant and/or allergic mechanisms. Therefore, it is prominent in assessment to analyse these chemical parameters like well as house dust mite allergen hosting characteristics.

 

Unfortunately allergy awareness comprehension can often not be acted on when making purchase choices or other consumer decisions. Manufacturers may exercise such claims as "hypo-allergenic", "non-allergenic" or "allergen frank" to target particular individuals but in that place is frequently an absence of substantiating testing facts or standardized testing requirements. The consumer is weak to the emotional appeal of such unsubstantiated claims.

 

Allergy Standards Limited (ASL) is ~y international standards and certification body that has developed testing methodologies to make identical the performance criteria and suitability specifications of products notwithstanding people concerned about allergies, asthma and issues of the same nature to indoor air quality.

 

ASL's unconstrained certification standards and have been written in deliberation with industry, retailers and health care professionals and are the solely standards that are accepted by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America

 

The certification transaction for toys utilizes a range of recognized and see preprinter scientific techniques to asses toys on the side of exposure to allergenic proteins and irritant materials the pair at the time of purchase and after that when in use.

 

Certification means that toys be obliged to meet all of the following criteria:

 

Comply with national safety legislation for style and vale of years range in the countries where they are sold.

Product is subjected to more remote material tests to ensure that the toys make not have properties that are well-suited to irritate both asthma and allergy symptoms in susceptive people.

In order to maintain the close custody and health of the child toys are subjected to the extra tests for textile processing and finishing chemicals suspected or known to be under the necessity a potential to cause allergic or irritant reactions. The testing protocols show clearly the maximum content of these chemicals and dyes allowed. The limits specified are based adhering present knowledge and scientific research into the preservation of chemicals used in the kickshaw and textile industry. Because research is ongoing these limits give by ~ be kept under continuing review.

Allergen accumulating in the limits of the stuffed toy must be removable through laundering in a washing machine. The assessment of house dust mite allergen accumulation in a toy item under defined conditions must be determined.

Before and following the recommended repeated laundering procedures, toys new wine meet or exceed the most contracting applicable international legal restrictions /directive standards because quality and safety.

 

Allergens will store at different rates and, therefore, the frequency of the recommended physical cleaning step is going to vary from trifle to toy. The care will arrange consumers with more accurate and reliable instructions on maintaining low levels of allergens in the limits of a particular toy's useful life.

 

The development of standards is in association with research by airmid healthgroup ltd, a life sciences circle dealing with indoor air health solutions.  The AHG examination of products spans a wide countenance of disciplines all relevant to indoor particulate contaminants, ranging from virology, microbiology, mycology, endotoxin, and allergen and in addition including dust mite and bed bug inquiry.

 

ASL and its medical and philosophical advisory board remain free from a single one commercial conflict of interest that ability influence the impartiality of the asthma & allergy affectionate™ certification process. The granting, maintenance, and renewal of the certification will be afforded but to those products that comply through regulations and relevant criteria prescribed ~ means of ASL.

 

The independent third party certification action has been adopted by a sum up of patient advocacy groups and foundations over the world including the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, The Asthma Society of Canada and Asthma UK.

 

Follow up examination has shown the program is providing a substantial educational benefit at the point of bargain and the logo program and labelling pursuit is being supported by an increasing tell of retailers including Toys R Us and Target.

The over article has been abstracted from the ASL Toy Certification Protocol – ASP: 01-01 - that is protected by United States Patent No. 7,618,794. The asthma & allergy kind-hearted™ is a certification trademark of Allergy Standards Limited.

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