Lead STILL found in major brand toys!

The Center for Environmental Health just reported that high levels of lead were found in seven toys and children's products, despite the passage of a new federal law! Among those with excessive levels of lead are a Mattel Barbie bicycle accessory set and a Disney "Tinker Bell" necklace set.

So, it is important for us all to remember that even with new federal law on the books, there are still unsafe toys - major brands, at major retailers, not just 'made in China off-brands' - out there! The products were purchased from San Francisco area and San Diego retailers, including Target, WalMart, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning, Sears, Walgreens and other stores this fall.

In addition to the Mattel and Disney products, CEH found levels of lead in violation of the new federal law in a Dora the Explorer game set, two children's shoes, a child's poncho, and a child's belt. Of the seven products CEH found with high lead levels, the Disney jewelry and Mattel bike set had the highest lead levels. The amount of lead found in the seven products ranged from twice the legal limit of 300 parts per million (ppm) to more than 65 times the legal limit.

Results of tests by CEH and other organizations are available at Healthy Toys (www.healthytoys.org). Healthy Toys also maintains a searchable database for children's products...definitely worth consulting as we enter the holiday season. But what to do when you're out and about shopping and unsure about a certain toy??

Did you know you can access the HealthyStuff database by SMS using your mobile phone??

Simply text the HealthyStuff keyword (cars, kids, clothes, pets, toys), followed by your search text (e.g., fisher price train) to 30644. Queries can contain product names, model years, manufacturers. You may also filter your results by overall level of detection and/or score (HIGH,MED,LOW). More info available here.

You can also access HealthyStuff's mobile sites from any web-enabled device such as iPhone, Blackberry, etc... Simply point your device to www.healthystuff.com!

Click here for the full report from the Center for Environmental Health (pdf).

See a report from CBS News about the most recent report about lead in children's products:
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