Children’s slime toy recalled due to dangerous chemical fears

Be careful with what you're buying for your children (Photo: Shutterstock)Be careful with what you're buying for your children (Photo: Shutterstock)
Be careful with what you're buying for your children (Photo: Shutterstock)

A children’s toy made to look like slime cartoon poo and unicorn poo has been recalled from retailers due to fears over dangerous chemicals in the ingredients.

The toy comes from manufacturer Tobar and was sold in Claire’s Accessories and online on Amazon.

Why has it been recalled?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Unsafe Products has highlighted the slime as a product “with serious risks”.

The website states that “the migration of boron from the slime/putty is too high”.

Last year, Which? issued a warning for parents regarding children’s slime toys after their tests found that some contained levels of boron more than four times the safety limits permitted by EU standards.

Which? said: “Exposure to excessive levels of boron could cause irritation, diarrhoea, vomiting and cramps in the short term.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Even more worryingly, studies of high levels of boron in animals have been linked to low birth weights, birth defects and developmental delays.”

Which? continued: “The EU states that exposure to very high levels of boron may impair fertility and may cause harm to the unborn child in pregnant women.”

Unsafe Products stated in their recall: “Ingestion or contact with an excessive quantity of boron may harm the health of children by damaging their reproductive system.”

The products were branded as having failed to comply with the requirements of the Toy Safety Directive and the relevant European standard EN 71-3.

How do I know if my product has been recalled?

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The model number for the magic poo slime is 18977 and it has batch number K17.

The model number for the unicorn magic poo slime is 27433 and it has batch number K18.

What should I do if I’ve bought the recalled product?

Manufacturer Tobar has stated that due to the age of the affected batch, and its short shelf-life, there’s no risk to the public.

If that wasn’t the case, Tobar said that it would have issued a consumer recall instead of recalling from retailers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If you’ve purchased the toy recently, you may still be within the time limit to return it to the retailer you bought it from.

It’s down to the individual retailer’s discretion whether they will offer you a refund.

If you bought it online, you generally have a 14-day window to return it.

What does Tobar say?

A spokesperson for Tobar said: "Following a deviation from the formula in the manufacturing factory, a batch of the product did not meet the EU requirement for boron.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They continued: “The EU does have a measure for Boron, countries like the U.S. do not.

“After one batch of the product was found to be non-compliant Tobar instigated the withdrawal of all the products from sale, not just the affected batch.

"We liaised with our trading standards partners and they were happy for us to take this proactive approach,” the spokesperson added.

This article originally appeared on our sister site Edinburgh Evening News