Do you have a ‘Start Your Senses Zebra‘ toy with the code ‘Q’ followed by a four digit number, if so, please stop using it and destroy immediately.
This is the advice that is being given out by Asda as thousands of this baby toy are being recalled because they include a dye that is considered a cancer risk.
The ‘Start Your Senses Zebra’ which has been sold by stores such as Tesco, Asda, Mothercare and Amazon as an educational toy that would help develop a baby’s sight, hearing and touch senses. Any parent who has this toy have been advised to return or destroy it.
The Zebra contains a colour which includes the chemical 4-Aminoazobenzine (aka Aniline Yellow) which is used in computer printer, insecticides etc, it is toxic and a cancer risk and is prohibited from products that babies might chew.
A scientist at Leeds-based company Green Chemicals, which develops products using safer chemicals, was not surprised the product was recalled.
Technical director, Dr Jamie Hawkes, said: ‘Overall, as the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified this as a Group 2 carcinogen – it suggests that it is possible to be carcinogenic to humans via ingestion or contact with skin.
‘In the case of this toy, the dye will probably be pretty well fixed into the fibres. Therefore any exposure to unfixed dyestuff and hence a carcinogen would be small – although any exposure is a risk that most people would not want to take.’
The firm behind the brand and toy is Kids II, an American company which describes itself as the world’s fastest growing baby product companies with global sales of 22.8milllion products.
Parents were advised to contact the UK office of the company, Kids II UK Ltd, which is based in Luton, Bedfordshire, for a refund.
Read the full article from the Daily Mail.
