Three slime toy products, So-Squishy Slime, Magic Crystal Mud, and Glitter Slime, were banned from UAE shelves after authorities deemed the products “poisonous to children” if swallowed or touched.
According to Emirates Authority for Standardisation and Metrology, these three products contained the boron element at higher levels than permissible. ESMA have urged enforcement and regulatory bodies, municipalities, and the Department of Economic Development to withdraw these products immediately and permanently from the shelves and banned the products’ circulation in the markets.
Dr Yousuf Al Saadi, Director of Compliance Department at ESMA, said the toys could pose a danger to consumers, especially to children, “as children’s bodies are more sensitive to the toxicity of boric acid than adults, which could lead to poisoning if the slime toys were swallowed.”
Globally, toy-related injuries are on the rise every year and safety is becoming everyone’s top concern. While choking is the most common injury, children could also suffer burns, broken bones, suffocation, drowning or poisoning.
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Recently, parents have expressed fear over numerous children’s toys including, the fidget spinner stating it is a choking hazard and a distracting toy in schools. Other hazardous toys include a mini doll that has to be spoon fed or diaper changed, small figurines embedded within chocolate eggs, toy guns that cause eye injury, foam bullets, handcuffs and dust-catching stuffed toys.