On September 9, 2024, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR) to address the risk of death and injury associated with children ingesting or inserting in the nose or ear water bead toys by adding performance and labeling requirements for water bead toys or toys containing water beads.
On Aug 21, 2025, CPSC approved a final rule 16 CFR 1250.4 for water bead toys, establishes performance and labeling requirements for water bead toys and toys containing water beads to minimize the risk of children ingesting, inserting, aspirating, and choking on water bead toys.
What is Water Beads?
Water beads are various shaped, multi-colored or clear beads composed of liquid absorbing polymers, such as, but not limited to, polyacrylamides and polyacrylates, which expand when soaked in liquid such as water. Water beads are designed to be soaked in liquid such as water, which allows the beads to absorb the liquid and expand.
US CPSC Approved a Final Rule for Water Bead Toys Safety
On August 21, 2025, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) approved a final rule establishing a new federal toy safety standard, 16 CFR 1250.4 Requirements for Water Beads, and added 16 CFR 1112.15(b)(32)(iv) to require that third-party conformity assessment bodies conducting conformity assessments to this standard for water bead toys must be CPSC-accepted.
This new federal safety standard sets forth performance and labeling requirements for water bead toys as well as toys that contain water beads (including toys with water beads enclosed inside and inaccessible to children), in order to reduce the risks of ingestion, insertion, inhalation, and suffocation posed by water beads.
The proposed rule will add performance and labeling requirements for water bead toys and toys that contain water beads to address the following four identified hazards:
- Ingestion of water beads
- Insertion of water beads into the nose or ear
- Aspiration due to water beads
- Choking due to water beads
The NPR defines a water bead as a, “various shaped water absorbent polymer, such as, but not limited to, polyacrylamide and polyacrylate, which expands when soaked in water.”
ASTM F963-23 includes requirements for expanding materials but, according to CPSC, the current requirements for this category of toys are insufficient to address these known water bead hazards.
The proposed rule would add the following in 16 CFR 1250:
Performance requirements to address ingestion, choking, aspiration and insertion hazards:
Water beads as received or water beads removed from a toy, which fit entirely inside the small parts cylinder in their dehydrated (pre-expanded) state, shall not expand more than 50 percent in any dimension and shall remain whole while also completely passing through the new proposed funnel test gauge under its own weight after expansion
Acrylamide limits and testing:
Water beads shall not have more than 65 µg acrylamide extractable from 100 small water beads (defined as <4 mm across the smallest diameter of the bead prior to hydration) or from one large water bead (defined as ≥4 mm across the smallest diameter of the bead prior to hydration)
Marking, labeling and instructional literature requirements
- Water bead toys, packaging of water bead toys, and the container of water beads, if provided, must include the safety alert symbol, signal word, and word message.
- Products with contained water beads, such as balls filled with water beads, and the packaging must include the safety alert symbol, signal word, and word message.
- Products with contained water beads that do not have packaging must have a hangtag or sticker label with the full warnings. Multiple products sold in a package or bin must be individually labeled with a hangtag or sticker.
- The warnings shall be in the English language at a minimum.
- The warnings shall be conspicuous and permanent on the principal display panel as defined in section 3.1.62 of the version of ASTM F963 incorporated by reference in § 1250.2(a) and in a distinct color contrasting to the background on which it appears.
- The warnings shall conform to ANSI Z535.4-2023, sections 6.1-6.4, 7.2-7.6.3, and 8.1, with some changes.
- Certain text in the message panel must be in bold and in capital letters. Text must use black lettering on a white background or white lettering on a black background.
- The message panel text shall appear in sans serif letters and be center or left aligned. Text with precautionary (hazard avoidance) statements shall be preceded by bullet points(·).
- Multiple precautionary statements shall be separated by bullet points(·) if paragraph formatting is used.
- The safety alert symbol and the signal word “WARNING” shall appear in sans serif letters and be at least 1/8” (3.2mm) high and be center or left aligned. The remainder of the text shall be in characters whose upper case shall be at least 1/16”(1.6mm) high
- The safety alert symbol , an exclamation mark in a triangle, when used with the signal word, must precede the signal word. The base of the safety alert symbol must be on the same horizontal line as the base of the letters of the signal word. The height of the safety alert symbol must equal or exceed the signal word letter height. The exclamation mark must be at least half the size of the triangle centered vertically.
- Requirements for Instructional Literature: Instructions shall have the same warning labels that must appear on the product packaging, with similar formatting requirements, but without the need to be in color. However, the signal word and safety alert symbol shall contrast with the background of the signal word panel, and the warnings shall contrast with the background of the instructional literature.
GIS Support for Toy Safety
Water beads, as emerging toy products, pose potential safety risks due to their strong water absorption and expansion characteristics. With the introduction of new regulations and stricter supervision by global consumer safety authorities, related enterprises should pay close attention to compliance requirements and take preventive measures in advance.
GIS Inspection has rich experience and professional qualifications in toy inspection and testing, and can provide enterprises with comprehensive third-party quality inspection and compliance services.
Welcome to contact GIS Inspection now.
