A call has gone out for the government to ban 'gender-bending' chemicals after they were found in six out of 10 plastic toys tested by a green group.
The chemicals, phthalates, are banned from children's products in Europe and the United States after being linked to abnormalities in the reproductive system during fetal development and hormonal malfunctions in children.
But a biochemistry professor said Hong Kong parents should not be too worried as large-scale exposure to the substances over a long time was needed before any damage was done.
An independent laboratory appointed by Greenpeace tested 20 children's products bought in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou and 10 bought in Hong Kong. Out of the 30 samples, 21 contained phthalates.
Nineteen of the 21 positive samples contained more than 10 per cent phthalates by total weight.
In Hong Kong, one of the six products with phthalates contained nearly 30 per cent of the chemicals.
'Governments in the EU and North America have all recognised the serious health concerns of phthalates for children, yet in China and Hong Kong, kids are unprotected from these harmful toxins,' saidGreenpeace campaigner Vivian Yau.