Toys 'R' Us, Sogo take feeding bottles off shelves
Toys 'R' Us and the Sogo department store removed plastic baby bottles from their shelves yesterday amid concerns over the chemical bisphenol A, despite customs department assurances that products sold in the city were safe.
Last night, a spokeswoman said Jusco would recall all brands of plastic baby feeding bottles.
Toys Li Fung (Asia), the franchisee for Toys 'R' Us, removed all plastic feeding bottles from its stores in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and the mainland as a precaution, even though they met international safety standards. It was 'a temporary measure to enable us to carry out the necessary tests ... before any further action', the company said.
A Sogo spokesman said 18 models of baby feeding bottles had been suspended from sale and samples sent for testing. The suspension involved six brands, Pigeon, Avent, NUK, Chu Chu, Chicco and Doctor Browns, he said. He stressed the move did not mean the products were unsafe.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical found in many polycarbonate plastic bottles, including baby feeding bottles. The US National Toxicology Programme raised concerns after it issued a draft report last Monday saying rats injected or fed small doses of BPA developed precancerous tumours and urinary tract problems.
Removal by Toys 'R' Us was in response to a report that Canada may ban the use of BPA in polycarbonate baby bottles. The Canadian health department had found low levels of BPA could harm fish over time, and newborns and infants were at minor risk from exposure to BPA.
A Toys 'R' Us spokesman could not say whether it would recall bottles already sold or give the brands and volumes of products removed.
Despite concerns, tests showed baby bottles sold in Hong Kong complied with British and European standards on children's drinking utensils. The city had adopted those standards, a spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department said.
The department regularly sent the Government Laboratory bottles from store shelves to test for compliance. He could not say what level of BPA was acceptable.
Supermarket chains Wellcome and ParknShop and pharmacy chain Mannings would continue selling the baby bottles. They said their products had passed safety tests.
For Toys 'R' Us inquiries call 29916222, for Sogo call 28338338, or call customs' hotline on 25456182.
