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Mass recall of more than 30 UK toys amid asbestos contamination fears ...
More than 30 different children's toys sold in the UK have now been recalled amid mounting fears that several products containing sand from China may be contaminated with asbestos.Shops including M&S, Tesco, Primark and Matalan are among the latest retailers to have sold products including kids' candle-making kits, stretchy rubber toys and coloured sand, which have now been recalled.All the toys are believed to contain sand mined from China where asbestos occurs naturally, but where safety standards and labelling are less rigorous.The alarm was first raised in Australia at the end of last year, when 69 schools were forced to close after coloured play sand was found to contain the cancer-causing substance. After that, a parent in the UK sent samples of sand they'd bought at Hobbycraft to a testing lab, allegedly finding traces of asbestos fibres in the bottles of yellow, green and pink sand. Investigations subsequently revealed traces of asbestos in numerous products sold in the UK by companies including Asda, eBay, and Amazon.Asbestos is a banned substance because the inhalation of cancer-causing fibres poses a risk, even at low levels of exposure.Tesco's Squishy Pugs toys, Funkee Sand toys and Paw Patrol Sand Art picture set are all among the products being recalled. Meanwhile M&S had also sold Paw Patrol products containing contaminated sand, issuing a recall for products including the Paw Patrol Bumper Craft Set, and also Addo Play's Out To Impress Sand Art Creations set. Matalan has recalled the Pug Dog and Sausage Dog toys, which may contain the asbestos-contaminated sand, and Primark has recalled the range of Stretcherz toys, which had also been sold previously, and also recalled by Asda.The government's Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) said it recognised the failures would be a concern for parents and was clamping down on "irresponsible sellers".Minister for Product Safety Kate Dearden told The Independent: “It is staggering toys are being sold with asbestos, and I know how concerning this will be for parents. We're taking action with new measures to strengthen consumer protection and clamp down on irresponsible sellers. “Our product safety laws are clear – businesses must ensure the products they sell are safe and act when they have sold unsafe products to consumers.“We work closely with the EU, Trading Standards and the toy industry to ensure businesses act immediately, and any products which test positive for asbestos are removed fr...
Dozens of toys recalled in the UK after asbestos found in play sand
More than 30 children’s toys have been recalled in the UK after the Guardian revealed that play sand sold by Hobbycraft was contaminated with asbestos.Over the past three months, other children’s products ranging from candle-making kits to stretchy rubber toys have been recalled by retailers including Tesco, Primark, Matalan and M&S after being found to contain the substance.Asbestos can cause cancer in later life if inhaled and the UK prohibits the sale of products containing it in any quantity. It is thought that the affected toys all contain sand from mines in China where asbestos fibres can occur naturally and where labelling rules are less rigorous.In January, the Guardian reported that Hobbycraft had withdrawn its Giant Box of Craft kits from sale after a customer alerted it to asbestos traces in the bottles of coloured sand. The store said UK authorities had not warned of a risk and there was no evidence of harm to customers.After that story, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) issued an advisory note for traders about the most reliable tests, and since then labs have reported a surge in requests from stores and manufacturers.The consumer group Which? said the number of recalls in the last three months pointed to a serious failure in safety checks.Kmart sand products. Photograph: ACCC Product Safety“The Office for Product Safety and Standards needs to take action and ensure proper checks are being carried out to keep dangerous products off the shelves,” said Sue Davies, Which?’s head of consumer protection policy. “It should also examine whether toys containing asbestos are being sold on online marketplaces where there is far more limited regulation.”Traders have called into question the lab testing methods commonly used by the industry at the point of the Hobbycraft recall, as they failed to detect small quantities of asbestos. Products that had been certified as safe were found to be contaminated when they were sent for the more reliable type of test.Contaminated play sand had in November already prompted government recalls and the closure of schools and nurseries in Australia and New Zealand. However, similar products remained on sale in high street stores and online platforms in the UK and Europe.Hobbycraft issued a national recall of the craft box two days after the Guardian’s exposé. Customers were instructed to seal the contaminated bottles in double bags and seek council advice on disposal. It has since recalled four further c...
Recall of more than 30 kids toys over asbestos contamination fears
More than 30 children's toys have been recalled in the UK since the start of the year after being found to contain asbestos. Retailers including Tesco, Argos and M&S have taken the toys off shelves after they were found to contain the substance, recall information on the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) website shows.
Mass recall of more than 30 children's toys over asbestos contamination ...
Related Videos Mass recall of more than 30 UK toys amid asbestos contamination fears The Independent 2026-04-27, 14:38
