Zhu Zhu Pets: Cute, Furry, and Toxic?
One of this holiday season’s must-have toys, Zhu Zhu Pets, may contain dangerously toxic levels of antimony, a heavy metal that can make children sick if ingested, federal safety officials said.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it is investigating the popular Zhu Zhu Pets toys after a San Francisco-based consumer rights group, GoodGuide, gave the products low ratings after finding antimony in the hair and nose of one of the toy hamsters, named Mr. Squiggles.
The toy, which is meant for children between the ages of three and 10, earned a rating from the group of just 5.2 out of 10, according to an MSNBC.com news report.
Antimony is used to make many plastics and textiles to make them more fire-proof, but longer exposure to the chemical can cause lung and heart damage, ulcers, and diarrhea.
Zhu Zuh Pets, made by Cepia LLC of St.Louis, Mo., have become this year’s hot ticket toy for younger kids filling out their lists for Santa. For you adults, think back to the Tickle Me Elmo craze of the mid-1990s or the Cabbage Patch Kids of the 1980s and you’ll understand the hype surrounding the cute, furry toys that seeming every kid of a certain age must have under the tree this Christmas.
The small hamster toys, which sell for about $10, are sold at major U.S. retailers including Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys “R” Us. They also are sold on Craigslist and eBay as collectibles for up to four times their retail price.
Officials from GoodGuide tested samples of this year’s 30 hottest holiday toys for lead and other potential dangers. On the Zhu Zhu hamster, they measured antimony at levels exceeding allowable amounts. The chemical was found at 93 parts per million in the hamster’s fur and at 106 parts per million in its nose. Both of those readings greatly exceed the allowable level of 60 parts per million, officials said.
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