Avoid filling Christmas stockings with toys that include play sand, Consumer NZ warns

Detailed summary

Consumer NZ is urging people to avoid filling Christmas stockings with any toys that include play sand, ahead of mandatory testing results being announced. Consumer NZ said this…

*Correction: This story has been updated to clarify where the product was sold

Consumer NZ is urging people to avoid filling Christmas stockings with any toys that include play sand, ahead of mandatory testing results being announced.

Consumer NZ said this week asbestos has been found in a Faber-Castell product that was sold at Spotlight and other online retailers was labelled "non-toxic" and "safe for children".

Tremolite asbestos was detected in Faber-Castell's "Plant & Grow Woodland Forest".

The consumer advocacy organisation said Faber-Castell had told one concerned parent that its products were thoroughly tested but has now initiated a recall.

The asbestos was found by Auckland based labrotory Aerem before results were sent to independent specialists Eurofins, a US-based company. The further testing confirmed the presence of tremolite asbestos.

Aerum director Ben Alford says there should be a blanket ban on the sale and supply of coloured play sand.

Alford said testing asbestos is complicated because a negative or positive result only applies to the portion examined and the testing can't guarantee that every bag or batch is asbestos-free.

"Children depend on adults and suppliers to keep hazardous substances out of their toys. Families should not have to interpret conflicting laboratory reports to decide whether a product belongs in their homes."

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