High chairs, boosters and feeding equipment

• Regulation (EU) 2023/988 — GPSR
• Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 — food contact for feeding items
• Directive 2014/35/EU for powered sterilisers
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 — Article 4

Who has to appoint one

Manufacturers and sellers outside the Union placing high chairs and feeding equipment on the EU market. Feeding items add the food contact regime, and powered sterilisers and bottle warmers add the electrical rules.

Thresholds and exemptions

None. Childcare articles are treated as high-risk regardless of volume.

What must appear on the label

Manufacturer and responsible person details, model and batch identification, the maximum child weight and age range, assembly and harness instructions, and the stability and restraint warnings. Feeding items carry the food contact indication.

Marketplace fields

Marketplaces demand test reports for this category before reinstating a suppressed listing, and folding mechanisms are a recurring recall cause.

Documentation you must hold

Technical documentation, risk analysis covering falls, entrapment, finger traps in folding mechanisms and stability, full test reports, and declarations of compliance with migration data for feeding items.

Standards and testing

EN 14988 for children's high chairs covering stability, restraint and folding mechanisms, EN 14350 for drinking equipment with migration and mechanical testing, and EN 60335-2-15 for powered sterilisers.

Language requirements

Assembly, harness and warning information in the language of every member state of sale.

When it applies

Before the product is made available.

How long records are kept

Ten years.

What happens if you do not comply

Recall and Safety Gate alerts. Falls from high chairs where the crotch restraint was inadequate are among the most cited injuries in this category.

Who enforces it

Market surveillance authorities, food safety authorities for feeding items, and customs.

Where the boundary lies

A booster seat for a dining chair follows the high chair standard, not the car seat regime, and confusing the two produces documentation that is worthless. Silicone and plastic feeding items need migration testing at the temperatures actually used, including sterilisation.

Questions we are asked

Is a crotch restraint mandatory?

EN 14988 requires a restraint system that prevents the child sliding under the tray, and its absence is a design failure rather than an option.

Do silicone bibs need food contact documentation?

If they contact food, yes, with migration testing under the intended conditions.