Recently, a colorful soft toy made from memory foam, so-called squishy, have become increasingly popular, However, a study from Danish Environmental Protection Agency recommends disposing of all squishies in the home and failing to buy new squishies. It shows the Danish EPA’s study of 12 types of squishies that were analyzed for degassing of chemical substances. All 12 products gave harmful substances in such high concentrations which could pose a risk if children play with them for a long time.
The 12 products examined are illegal to sell in Denmark and the rest of the EU. Toys dealers must immediately remove the illegal toy from the shelves.
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency’s Chemical Inspectorate will now take the necessary steps to remove the specific products from the market.
Several different toxins:
The study shows that all the squishies studied give high concentrations of the drug dimethylformamide (DMF), which gives rise to a risk of liver damage and transient irritation of the eyes and respiratory tract in children. The substance can also damage the unborn child.
All 12 squishies deliver high concentrations of two other mucosal irritants.
Two out of the 12 squishies deliver substances at levels that pose a risk of injury to the nervous system. One of the 12 squishies releases a carcinogenic substance at concentrations that pose a risk when measured on the product shortly after unpacking (1 hour)
If you are the manufacturers or importers of supplying foam toys, it is time to take action to avoid recall and incidence. Intertek ShenZhen can offer extensive and speedy chemical testing and analysis to assess the presence of toxic substances from the squishies.
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