Here’s a timely investigation: as everyone begins to list the gifts that will take place at the foot of the tree in just over three weeks, the UFC What to Choose comes out a study on the composition of toddler toys. And this study suggests that some toys intended for children under three years old could be toxic: enough to be particularly vigilant at Christmas shopping time!
Before alerting the health authorities and more precisely ANSES (National Agency for Health, Food, Environment and Occupational Safety) UFC Que Chooser tested and analyzed the composition of 30 toys intended for babies and toddlers. Why more specifically this age group? Because, as all parents know, babies put everything in their mouths, and love to nibble on their toys. If this is part of their development, it is also which makes them more fragile in the face of potential chemical risk, because if the toys contain toxic substances, they risk ingesting them.
No risk study on chemical compounds
The consumers’ association has therefore worked on the chemical analysis of toys, more specifically looking for substances from which they have been requesting removal for several years: formaldehyde (an irritant carcinogenic compound), bisphenol A (now prohibited in baby bottles), and phthalates, which are banned in Europe but still too often found in toys made in Asia.
Rest assured : none of these substances were found in the toys analyzed. But two other types of compounds have drawn the attention of the UFC Que Choisir: petroleum derivatives present in low doses, and certain plastic compounds which replace phthalates and on which, for the moment, no risk study has been carried out. ‘exists: “this is why we have contacted ANSES and we are asking it to assess them and give their opinion,” explains the association.
What about Sophie the giraffe?
In its selection of baby toys, the UFC Que Choisir could not forget Sophie la Girafe, a cult toy who celebrated her 50th birthday last May. On the antenna of France Info, the editor of the survey reassured parents by explaining that this toy is perfectly up to standards in France but that in Germany where health standards concerning nitrosamines are stricter, it would be withdrawn from the market. ,. Why ? Because nitrosamines are carcinogenic compounds which migrate into saliva: as in Germany, “zero risk” prevails, they cannot be present in toys. In France, they are prohibited in pacifiers but… “tolerated” in toys. Parents to think before doing their Christmas shopping …
