Five Chinese toys were found to contain harmful plasticizers, including Kiddy Dough colored clay, which is claimed to be from the United States and has been a best-seller in the U.S. for 20 years, according to a recent toy quality supervision and sampling test organized by the Suzhou Market Supervision Bureau in China.
In this issue, 36 batches of samples were collected from physical stores and e-commerce platforms in China, including wooden toys, doll toys, plush toys, and plastic toys. After inspection, 5 batches of toys were found to be unqualified, which were from Yonghui and China Resources Wanjia supermarkets, and Tmall online stores. The unqualified items are mainly two indicators of mechanical and physical properties and plasticizers. The pass rate of random inspections in this period was 86.1%.
Five batches of unqualified toys were found to be unqualified for the “plasticizer” item, such as the “Kiddy Dough” colored clay set educational toys sold on Tmall and produced by Suzhou Yihe Children’s Gifts Co., Ltd.
Plasticizers are commonly used additives in plastic processing, and phthalates are the main type of plasticizers that can make plastics soft. Studies have shown that inhalation or exposure to excessive amounts of phthalate plasticizers may affect the secretion of hormones in fetuses and infants, trigger hormone imbalances, may lead to precocious puberty in children, affect the reproductive system, and cause other health problems.
In addition, the 36-level maze produced by Yunhe County Muge Toys Co., Ltd. sold on Tmall, which contains small balls without corresponding warning instructions, is judged to be unqualified in mechanical and physical properties.
China is the world’s largest producer of toys and has a huge toy consumer market. However, as the types of new toys continue to increase, toy safety accidents occur frequently, seriously harming children’s physical and mental health, so parents should be vigilant when buying toys.
The list of 5 batches of unqualified Chinese-made toys is as follows.
| Product name | Nominal trademark | Specification/model | Manufacturer | Seller | Sales platform | Unqualified items |
| Fun toys | Shuangleer | 889 | Shantou Chenghai District Shuangleer Toy Factory | Jiangsu China Resources Vanguard Supermarket Co., Ltd. Suzhou Jinfeng Store | — | Plasticizer |
| Youheng plush toy zodiac ox | Youheng | YH2164 | Fuzhou Letian Toys Co., Ltd. | Jiangsu Yonghui Supermarket Co., Ltd. Suzhou Tongjing Road Branch | — | Plasticizer |
| Doll toy | Le Sina | GN895 | Shantou Chenghai District Gina Animation Culture Co., Ltd. | Gusu District Pingmei Clothing Store | — | Plasticizer |
| 36-level maze | N/A | N/A | Yunhe County Muge Toys Co., Ltd. | Suzhou Shixuanyan Trading Co., Ltd. | Tmall | Small ball warning instructions, plasticizer |
| Colored clay set educational toys | Kiddy Dough | 10302 | Suzhou Yihe Children’s Gifts Co., Ltd. | Suzhou Yihe Children’s Gifts Co., Ltd. | Tmall | Plasticizer |
Source: Consumer Report Group