Baby bibs imported from China and sold at Toys 'R' Us stores in the United States contain high levels of lead, reports said Wednesday.
According to tests conducted for the Center for Environmental Health, a public interest group, and the New York Times, the vinyl bibs contain up to three times the amount of lead allowed in paint.
The bibs, also sold at Babies 'R' Us, feature baseball bats, soccer balls and Disney's Winnie the Pooh characters. They are imported from China by Hamco Baby Products and sold in the U.S. under store brand labels, including Especially for Baby and Koala Baby. The affected bibs are not sold in Canada.
Toys 'R' Us said lab tests conducted in May found the bibs complied with safety standards, the Times reported.
"Our uncompromising commitment to safety has been, and continues to be, our highest priority," company spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh told the paper, adding that tests revealing individually contaminated bibs should not be interpreted as a widespread problem. She said the company would also retest the bibs in question.
Officials from the Consumer Product Safety Commission told the Times that while they would prefer there be no lead in bibs, their lab tests indicated the lead levels were low enough that a child chewing on or rubbing the bib would not get an unhealthy dose.
The bibs would only pose a risk if ripped or if the vinyl were cracked, the CPSC said.
Exposure to high levels of lead can cause vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions, coma or death in children, who absorb the metal more easily than adults. Symptoms of exposure to lead include anemia, appetite loss, abdominal pain, constipation, fatigue, sleeplessness, irritability and headaches.
Lead can get into vinyl in three ways — as an inexpensive stabilizer, in dyes or from recycled vinyl which may have contained lead in an earlier use.
The bibs are still on sale in U.S. stores. The lack of a recall has prompted criticism from safety advocates in the wake of a slew of recalls on Chinese products, including toys containing lead, toothpaste containing an antifreeze chemical and pet food containing a pesticide ingredient.
Charlie Pizarro of the Center for Environmental Health, the public interest group that tested the bibs, said this issue is a huge concern because lead is so dangerous for children.
"What we're telling parents is not to panic but to definitely test your child's bib and to make sure that it's safe," he told CBC News.
He said that parents should test all their children's vinyl products and metal jewelry for lead using a kit available at hardware stores to ensure their child's toys are safe.
The group will be able to force the bibs off the shelves in California thanks to a state law, Pizarro said, adding they would continue to campaign until Toys 'R' Us pulled the product.
"As long as these products are testing positive,we're going to let the world know that Disney, Walmart, Toys 'R' Us and other stores are selling poison products to children," Pizarro said.
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- CBC-TV's Andrew Nichols talks to Charlie Pizarro of the Center for Environmental Health in San Francisco, California (Runs: 5:23)
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