Five toys currently on sale in the United Kingdom have been found to contain asbestos during laboratory tests, prompting a safety warning for consumers. The affected products include sand art kits and a stretchy gorilla toy, all of which were available through major retailers.
Full list of affected toys
The five products that tested positive for asbestos are:
- Fun Sand's Sand Art Bottle
- Glitter & Glow's Magical Sand Art by KandyToys
- Sand Filled Weirdo
- Wordpad Montessori Sand Tray
- 4 Pack Stretchy Gorilla Toy (sold on Amazon)
These items were identified following an investigation by the Guardian newspaper. While the quantities of asbestos detected are small, experts warn that any exposure poses a risk, particularly to young children.
Health risks and expert comments
Ashley Howkins, lead scientific officer at Brunel University, stated: “Although the risk to health is small because the quantities of asbestos are small, there is still a risk. The younger the child exposed the more chance they have of developing symptoms.”
Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and inhalation of fibres can lead to serious respiratory diseases, including mesothelioma and lung cancer, often decades after exposure.
Retailer and regulatory response
An Amazon spokesperson said: “When we identified safety concerns related to sand-based toys, we proactively removed affected products – including play sand and kits – from our European stores, and now require a test from an accredited lab prior to listing.”
Richard Clevers, an investigative journalist with Dutch news outlet Algemeen Dagblad, highlighted inconsistencies in the European alert system: “Product warnings are piling up but differ from country to country and the European system intended to provide an overview is failing consumers. Anyone wanting to know which toys are affected must monitor the websites of different regulators across the continent.”
Concerns from small retailers
Wendy Hamilton, owner of the independent toy store Curious Minds, expressed frustration: “There is no requirement for independent verification before products reach the market. It’s concerning that no alert was issued to UK retailers when similar products were recalled in the Netherlands. While importers and distributors have a legal duty to notify authorities when they become aware of an unsafe product, there is currently no clear requirement for them to notify retailers. As a small independent retailer we only found out because you contacted us.”
Government action
Labour Party minister for product safety, Kate Dearden, said: “It is deeply concerning toys are being sold with asbestos, and I know this is worrying for parents. We are continuing to further investigate how products containing this have entered the UK market. We have introduced new powers to ensure product safety is as robust as possible and are consulting on how to strengthen our work on tackling unsafe products online. Businesses must ensure they are selling safe products and act when they have failed to do so. We will continue to work closely with the EU and ensure any toys sold in the UK which test positive for asbestos are removed from sale and recalled.”
Consumers who have purchased any of the listed products are advised to stop using them immediately and return them to the point of sale for a refund. Further updates on product recalls are expected from the Office for Product Safety and Standards.
