Are Zhu Zhu Pets and Other Popular Toys Dangerously Toxic?
The hottest toy of this holiday season is a little electronic hamster named the Zhu Zhu Pet. The $9.99 toy is this season’s Tickle Me Elmo and parents are lining up early to snatch one for their kids. Millions of these cute little toys have been sold, but a consumer products website called Good Guide claims that these toys contain some toxic chemicals. Is this a good reason to take these toys to the dumpster? GoodGuide is a website that scores over 70,000 consumer products for their impact on health, the environment, and the society. In a recent report about popular holiday toys, the website reported that Zhu Zhu Pets has high levels of antimony and tin. However, the website does have a disclaimer that says these levels of chemicals “are not intended to correspond to levels known to cause health effects.” In the case of the toxic metal antimony, it has to be ingested or absorbed to cause harm. GoodGuide found 93 parts per million in the fur of the Zhu Zhu Pet, and 106 parts per million
