Safety-concern toys good to go

A POPULAR Christmas toy distributed by a Lees firm has undergone more tests following a safety scare.

Character Options, based at Leesbrook Mill, said its Go Go Hamsters (pictured above) had undergone further independent testing overnight by a leading inspection company and that the GoodGuide safety concerns are “entirely groundless”.

It said the battery–powered pets “meet and fully comply” with the stringent safety and quality standards and regulations imposed by the European authorities.

The firm claims the GoodGuide’s testing protocols were flawed and not compliant with EU or US standards and the results meaningless.

Richard King, executive chairman of Character, said: “Safety of children has always been the company’s top priority and we take all reasonable steps to ensure that all products are safe and fully compliant with all applicable standards.”

The toys, sold worldwide as Zhu Zhu pets and made in China, are tipped to be the biggest-selling Christmas toy with stocks already running out across Britain.

The US GoodGuide, which provides consumer information on products, said testing had found traces of antimony beyond permitted levels in the fur and the nose of the Mr Squiggles version of the toy.

Dara O’Rourke, founder of the GoodGuide, and associate professor of environmental science at the University of California, said: “The biggest danger is from a toddler or young child putting the toy in their mouth. If too much of the chemical is ingested it could lead to cancer or other health problems.”