Hong Kong customs and Consumer Council warn parents of choking and cancer risks posed by baby teethers
- Authorities urge parents to take immediate action to stop their children using banana-shaped teething product
- Other models found to contain cancer-causing substances, design flaws
Parents have been urged to immediately stop their children using a teething product declared a choke hazard following official testing as Hong Kong authorities warned of the cancer risk posed by other models.
The city’s Consumer Council and Customs and Excise Department issued the warning on Monday after some products were found to be of poor quality and even contain cancer-causing substances.
Chewing a teether can relieve the discomfort associated with the emergence of primary teeth and reduce the risk of children putting dirty and dangerous objects in their mouths.
The Consumer Council tested 20 of those on the market, including 13 non-liquid filled and seven liquid filled varieties. The results revealed some were of substandard quality and even contained carcinogens.
Testing evaluated each product’s construction, durability against biting, levels of harmful chemical substances, total microbial count, and comprehensiveness of labelling.
According to the council, durability against biting was found to be unsatisfactory in two models.
A teether called Kamikami Baby Banana, which was produced by Edison Mama, contained a part that could be lodged “deep in a baby’s throat”, the watchdog said.
A Customs spokesman said: “We urge parents to immediately stop children from using the teether product, which has an end part too small, [meaning] it could be put deep into an infant’s throat and cause suffocation.”