All over the news and Web this past week was GoodGuide’s red flag on Zhu Zhu pets. Zhu Zhu hamsters are a very popular children’s toy in the United States as well as Europe and would be a best seller this holiday season. So, what’s the problem? GoodGuide presented information that the light brown hamster, Mister Squiggles, contained high levels of hazardous substances. One is antimony, which is used in textiles and plastics to prevent them from catching fire. High levels of this substance can lead to respiratory and cardiac problems, as well as ulcers and diarrhea. Dara O’Rourke, co-founder of GoodGuide said, “We found levels of about 93 to 106 parts per million…The new federal standard is about 60 parts per million." GoodGuide also shows that this toy also has high levels of tin which can be harmful to the immune and nervous systems (CNN).
The manufacturers and distributers all claim that the toys are indeed safe and that the levels of antimony are within all safety standards. Still, this is a great example to why GoodGuide and other consumer informative sites should be used. Parents can go on these sites to see how safe products are for their children before any negative impact occurs. I am really encouraged to use this site for my future purchases. Big business is not going to make decisions in the best interest of me and my loved ones. It is my responsibility to make sure that I am an informed consumer. I hope this example empowers you all to be informed consumers too.
For more information see:
http://www.goodguide.com/products/280172-zhu-zhu-pets-hampster-mr-squiggles-light-brown
The Zhu Zhu hamsters were found not to have as high antimony and tin levels as GoodGuide initially claimed. GoodGuide says that the error occurred in comparing their testing method results with federal standards. The toy does not violate any heavy metal regulations.
ReplyDeleteThe results were posted later today, of course after i wrote by blog. Just keeping you posted...
For the investigation results to go
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091208/ap_on_bi_ge/us_zhu_zhu_pets_investigation
Good of you to post a follow-up, Jasmine!
ReplyDelete