Consumer group claims Zhu Zhu Pets unsafe

[UpInArms]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- The maker of Zhu Zhu Pets, one of the hottest-selling toys of the holiday season, defended its product after a consumer Web site said one of the robotic hamsters carries high amounts of a dangerous chemical.

Mister Squiggles, the light-brown version of the hamsters, has unsafe levels of antimony, said Dara O'Rourke, co-founder of GoodGuide.

The chemical can cause cancer, lung and heart problems, according to GoodGuide.

"We found levels of about 93 to 106 parts per million," O'Rourke said. "The new federal standard is about 60 parts per million."

But the toy manufacturer, St. Louis, Missouri-based Cepia LLC, said its products are safe.

"All our products are subjected to several levels of rigorous safety testing conducted by our own internal teams, as well as the world's leading independent quality assurance testing organization, and also by independent labs engaged by our retail partners," Russ Hornsby, CEO of Cepia, said in a written statement. "The results of every test prove that our products are in compliance with all government and industry safety standards."

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/12/06/zhu.zhu.toys/

---

buyer, beware

[Submariner]

1. "But the toy manufacturer said its products are safe."

That's what Dow told the DoD about Agent Orange, and we all know how that turned out. Don't trust the corporate line of propaganda.

[Raschel]

3. I saw a Minneapolis article that said 1 out of 3 toys had unsafe levels of toxic

chemicals in them. Wish I could find the article.

The toys, the candy, it's hard to find any of them that are not made in China.

[Brickbat]

2. When are people going to realize that Made in China = crap or dangerous or both?

ALMOST EVERY FUCKING TIME! GODDAMN!

[Raschel]

4. Even chew toys for my puppy. :(

[Raschel]

5. I hope all of the union haters are happy now. Jealous of people who produce making a good wage.

Now their kids can wear shoes and clothes with lead in them. Stupid morons.

[iamjoy]

7. Don't Blame China

I think China gets an unfair rap for toy recalls/dangerous toys. For one, the companies which have shipped jobs overseas are just looking for the cheapest price, not the best/safest product. They are probably not providing clear specs or guidelines about safety. For another, if 90% of our toys are made in China, it would be logical to assume that 90% of our recalls or problem toys are going to come from China. I wonder if any one has ever done any research to find out if it is in fact proportional. In any case, I blame the sellers.

That being said, the past two holiday seasons I made a real effort and most of my gifts were made in the USA . It didn't have to do with safety as much as trying to support US jobs (although admittedly, I didn't pay attention to Union vs. exploited US labor). My other gift store was Ten Thousand Villages - a fair trade shop.

[Brickbat]

13. Damn straight I blame China

for selling out labor environmental standards and human rights to make a buck. I also blame companies here that outsource manufacturing to those factories, and I blame people who buy the shit. There's plenty of blame.

ETA: Thanks for your efforts during the holiday shopping. Now spread it to all year around. ;)

[ms.smiler]

16. U.S. companies and manufacturers in China are to blame.

98% of recalled products in the U.S. are foreign made.

90% of those recalled products were made in China.

Only about 10% of recalled products are ever returned. Most recalled/unsafe products remain in homes with people who are unaware of the recall.

A person seriously reduces their risk of harm from unsafe products just by avoiding foreign made goods, especially products made in China.

What do you suppose is the number 1 concern for U.S. companies who outsource to China? You & I might think safety was their greatest concern, but we would be wrong - it's knock offs. Yes, they worry most about manufacturers in China producing knock offs of their products. Our safety isn't on their radar.

I'm a small business person and data from two reports just came in handy. :)

[dflprincess]

15. And let's not forget the generic drugs made in China

that sure makes me feel safe.

[johnfunk]

6. "But Union Carbide said there was nothing to worry about at their Bhopal chemical facility."

Uh-huh. Trust your capitalist overlords. They always speak the truth.

[MilesColtrane]

8. "I am become death. I am become Mr. Squiggle, destroyer of worlds."

Great, we've been racing to the bottom to compete with China in terms of wages... but now product safety?

[Wizard777]

9. They probably have rabies too.

:rofl:

[Jamastiene]

10. Geez, the one preschool fad I thought was kind of cool

turns out to be toxic. Why couldn't Tickle Me, Elmo have been caught in some kind of back alley shooting dope and be on an upcoming episode of "Where Are They Now" instead? I still find that little shit annoying.

[Canuckistanian]

11. Antimony?

Sure, it's toxic in it's elemental form and some compounds, but it's used as a flame retardent in plastics as Antimony trioxide.

From Wikipedia:
Antimony trioxide is the most important of the antimony compounds and is primarily used in flame-retardant formulations. These flame-retardant applications include such markets as children's clothing, toys, aircraft and automobile seat covers. It is also used in the fiberglass composites industry as an additive to polyester resins for such items as light aircraft engine covers. The resin will burn while a flame is held to it but will extinguish itself as soon as the flame is removed. Antimony sulfide is also one of the ingredients of safety matches.

So, it's been used in children's clothing and toys already for years as Antimony trioxide.

What did they find in the tests?

[Ian David]

12. After all the concern we've shown for human, child and environmental safety...

... in the countries that makes these things, you'd think they would show the same level of concern for US.

:sarcasm:

I only hope that the executives who make these things give them to their own kids to play with.

[neshanic still]

14. They shit microchip pellets with a tasty lead coating.

[notadmblnd]

17. Safe according to whos standards? China's?

[clear eye]

18. Go Go Hamsters pose potential health risk, says US watchdog

Source: The Guardian

Consumer testing lab finds high levels of toxic chemical on top Christmas toy, as manufacturer insists product is safe
Helen Pidd guardian.co.uk, Monday 7 December 2009 09.28 GMT

GoodGuide, a consumer testing research lab in San Francisco, claims to have detected high levels of antimony on Mr Squiggle's nose and hair, a substance which "may be linked to cancer, lung and heart problems".

The United States Environmental Protection Agency said that short-term exposure to the metal-like substance could cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The government watchdog says the chemical is thought to be a potential human carcinogen.

The research was conducted on toys sold in the US, under the brand Zhu Zhu pets...

Go Go Hamsters are the latest must-have toy among children, and retailers have experienced a sales surge in recent weeks. The toys, which respond to touch and can "explore" their surroundings, are also popular with parents thanks to their modest price tag.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/dec/07/go-go-hamsters-health-scare

[Dennis Donovan]

19. Go Go Hamsters? Any relation to the Go Go Gophers?

[zbdent]

27. "Go go Gadget Ipecac ..."

[Demoiselle]

20. Stay tuned.

GoodGuide's research method was just effectively debunked on NPR.

[demwing]

22. Heard the same story -

Take caution spreading allegations here, the toy may quite safe after all.

[clear eye]

28. Thought I was reasonably safe posting a story from a major newspaper. n/t

[Arctic Dave]

21. I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!!111

This is what you get for throwing me away five years ago!!

More to come from the digipet.

[Tinksrival]

23. Somebody got punked?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/6755192/Go-Go-hamsters-survive-toxic-scare.html

Go-Go hamsters survive toxic scare

News of the apparent poison scare sent a panic around the toy industry and sent shares in the toys' UK distributor, Aim-listed Character Group, down by as much as 8pc. The £10 animatronic Cricetinae are on track to be Christmas's biggest selling toy with more than 600,000 of the battery-operated toys expected to be sold by December 25 in the UK alone.

However after a frantic day of investigations, statements and clarifications it transpired that the claims by US consumer group Good Guide were based on different testing methodology to those used by European and US regulators and that the hamster in question – Mr Squiggles – is perfectly safe.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

24. Let me guess... made in China?

I wonder when it will be time to fly this.

[Tinksrival]

25. US producer Cepia.....

looks like toy WAR!

Cepia, the US group that produces the toys, said that it had referred the incident to its US attorneys and was "considering proceedings" against Good Guide. In a statement on its website, Character Group said: “We assure you that Mr Squiggles is absolutely safe and has passed the most rigorous testing in the toy industry for consumer health and safety.”

Character’s executive chairman Richard King told The Daily Telegraph that the company was “pretty upset” at the claims. “It’s disruptive and it’s unfair at this time of year,” he said. “I am not that happy about it but it is part of the game we are in.”

[Capn Sunshine]

26. antimony?

How in the world do you use antimony in ANY fake hair/toy fuzz manufacturing process?

I know it works good in tracer ammo, and other metallurgy,
but toy hair? WTF?

[clear eye]

29. Post # 11 above explains it pretty well. n/t