Bottom Line: Water beads toxic toy

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC/CONSUMER REPORTS) - After mounting pressure from safety groups, major retailers including Amazon, Walmart, and Target just announced that they will stop selling the popular children’s toy called water beads.

The move couldn’t come soon enough, as new testing by Consumer Reports and the Consumer Product Safety Commission reveals potentially dangerous ingredients that could make water beads an even greater hazard to children.

This past fall the CPSC issued a warning about water beads. If swallowed, those tiny, super-absorbent toys that expand can cause vomiting, intestinal blockages, and life-threatening injuries.

Now, after extensive testing by Consumer Reports and the CPSC, new dangers have emerged: toxic chemicals.

Their tests found chemicals like acrylamide, a likely carcinogen that’s also toxic to the brain, and BPA, which has been linked to certain cancers and fertility problems.

Many packages of water beads are labeled nontoxic. It’s a word you might see a lot on all kinds of products, but you might not know that it doesn’t mean an item is safe.

Consumer Reports and other safety advocates are calling for a ban on these products. They’re asking retailers to follow Amazon, Walmart, and Target’s lead, and take them off their shelves.

If you have water beads in your house, throw them away.

The online retailers Etsy and AliExpress have also stopped selling products with water beads. And Amazon says its third-party sellers have until Dec. 22 to comply with the new policy.

“Consumer Reports TV News” is published by Consumer Reports. Consumer Reports is a not-for-profit organization that does not accept advertising and does not have any commercial relationship with any advertiser or sponsor on this site.

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