As the 2017-2018 academic year is about to start, l head of the Turkish Standards Institution (TSE) Sebahattin Korkmaz gave students and parents advice on what to pay attention to when buying school stationary.

Korkmaz said there were so many different stationaries on the market and parents need to be careful when making purchases.

"In stores, they generally present appealing and colorful stationeries adorned with cartoon characters. Some of these products, which attract the attention of children, are sold badly as they may be generic products from unknown sources. Such stationeries, which are not produced in accordance with safety standards, pose risks threatening human health. Using such products may leave children open to diseases like cancer, obesity, hyperactivity, neuropathy and immune system diseases. The safest way to protect our children against the possible risk of stationeries is to prefer products with the TSE banderol on them," he said.

Korkmaz underlined that the TSE banderol on a product shows that the product was tested in TSE laboratories.

Another sign that consumers have to look for on a product is "CE," said Korkmaz, reiterating that the "CE" sign shows that the products are open to free circulation within EU countries and are human-, animal- and environment-friendly products.

Stressing that generic product should not be bought under any circumstances, Korkmaz said, "Consumers should pay attention to the brand of the products and prefer ones with TSE banderol and that are suitable to the age group. In toy and school stationary shopping, the criteria for the consumer must be the test indications and certificates of the product, not the prize. Scented products shouldn't be given to children. For products like face paints and tattoo pens, safe brands with certificates of dermatological tests should be preferred. These brands have TS EN ISO 9001 Quality Management System Certification. It is important that products bear a contact address for the producer company and signs indicating they are safe for human health."