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  • 2019-01-08 (xsd:date)
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  • Have 'Squishies' Toys Been Recalled in Denmark for Being Toxic? (en)
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  • Social media users became alarmed in early January 2019 after a Facebook post linked a child's illness to foam Squishies toys that had already been recalled in at least one country outside of the U.S. Elaine Lee said in her post that her 8-year-old daughter developed unusual symptoms after receiving several of the toys for Christmas: Lee then cited a 20 June 2018 statement by the Ministry of Environment and Food in Denmark regarding an analysis performed by that country's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to the Danish EPA's study, 12 out of the 12 toys they examined contained high levels of harmful chemicals, prompting Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, the country's minister for environment and food, to say: The Ministry of Environment and Food added that the toys would be withdrawn from the market: The study also drew international attention, with news outlets in Canada and Australia reporting on the issue. However, Ellemann-Jensen said in a parliamentary response published on 30 August 2018 that no final conclusions have yet been reached regarding the sale of the foam toys in Denmark, indicating that no recall effort had yet been implemented. The question of whether the individual squishies products are illegal, thus depends on the progress of the further case processing in the Danish EPA, he wrote. We contacted the ministry seeking clarification but have yet to hear back. Lee said that after removing the toys from her daughter's room and airing out the house, her child began to feel better. But her story was concerning enough to readers that they shared it more than 204,000 times on social media. We also contacted Health Canada and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission asking whether any investigations were underway in their respective countries regarding the toys but did not receive a response. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which would typically assess possible consumer complaints of Squishies in the states, is currently closed as a result of the partial federal government shutdown that began in December 2018. (en)
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