Are Zhu Zhu Pets Safe for Autistic Children

As you know, the CPSC has confirmed that the popular toy Zhu Zhu pets is safe. It is “not out of compliance with the antimony or other heavy metal limits.” My concern is, as a parent of an autistic child, I have been told that an item is safe for children, yet have found that it is not safe for my child.

A lot of our children are more sensitive to toxics than other children. They say that the amount of toxic metals contained in these toys are within government guidelines. My concern is that they do not say that these toys do not contain any of the toxics.

As a parent of an autistic child, this concerns me a lot. I do love these toys, and so do my children. However, I have to think about their health and safety. I contacted a representative of Zhu Zhu Pets via email. Here is a copy of what I asked and his reply. I contacted the CPSC and I have it and their reply copied below.


My email request:

I've been keeping track of what has been going on. I have that the CPSC has issue a statement that the toys are safe for normal play, although I don't see their statement on their website yet. My question is whether or not they are safe for autistic children. Our children are not known for playing normally. Some can be violant with their toys, others tend to mouth them. Under these circumstances, does the company believe that our children are safe? Thank you.

Tammy Lessick

Response received:

The CPSC confirmed that Zhu Zhu Pets meet their safety standards. You can see the article that was posted this morning in the Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-zhuzhu-pets8-2009dec08,0,7448175.story?track=rss. Cepia has also posted the results of the tests to the zhuzhupets.com web site if you’d like to take a look for yourself. - Company Representative

My email request:

Good afternoon. I am in need of follow-up information about the safety of the Zhu Zhu Pets. I have read that the CPSC has issued a statement that they are safe for normal play. My publiccation centers around autistic children. Our children are not known for playing with their toys normally. Many can be violent with their toys or mouth them. Many of our children also have weak immune systems and are more sensitive to metal toxins. My question is, are these toys, under these circumstances, safe for our autistic children?

Response received:

Tammy,
See our statement below re: Zhu Zhu Pets.
Thanks, Nychelle
“CPSC confirmed today that the popular Zhu Zhu toy is not out of compliance with the antimony or other heavy metal limits of the new U.S. mandatory toy standard. CPSC will continue to evaluate safety issues on toys as they arise.”


Nychelle (Nikki) Fleming
Public Affairs Specialist
Office of Information & Public Affairs
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

The toys are safe. They are within the government’s guidelines. We are told the same thing about vaccines, yet for some of our children, vaccines were harmful. Did you notice that neither one actually answered my question? What do you think? Are Zhu Zhu pets safe for autistic children?

No Recall on Zhu Zhu Pets or ZuZu Pets As My Daughter Spells Them

This is a quote from their website about the safety of the Zhu Zhu Pets. Please refer to my previous post for more information.

Manufacturer of Zhu Zhu Pets Confirms Safety of Mr. Squiggles Toy
and Offers Validation of Testing Protocol
Hottest toy of the holiday season passes the industry's most stringent consumer health
and safety certification standards
St. Louis (December 5) -- Cepia LLC, the manufacturer of Zhu Zhu Pets, says
that its Mr. Squiggles toy is “absolutely safe and has passed the most rigorous testing in
the toy industry for consumer health and safety.” This statement is in response to a report
made earlier today by Good Guide that alleges Mr. Squiggles contains unsafe levels of
antimony.
"We are disputing the findings of Good Guide and we are 100% confident that
Mr. Squiggles, and all other Zhu Zhu Toys, are safe and compliant with all U.S. and
European standards for consumer health and safety in toys”, said Russ Hornsby, CEO of
Cepia LLC.
“All our products are subjected to several levels of rigorous safety testing
conducted by our own internal teams, as well as the world’s leading independent quality
assurance testing organization, and also by independent labs engaged by our retail
partners,” Hornsby said. “The results of every test prove that our products are in
compliance with all government and industry safety standards.”
Test results show Mr. Squiggles, as well as all other Zhu Zhu Pets products, are
well within U.S. government standards and these results have been certified by the
world’s leading independent testing organizations.
Rigorous testing and inspection procedures are in place for all Zhu Zhu Pets
products to assure that the toys are completely safe. Working in conjunction with
representatives from governing toy industry and trade organizations, we have made
certain that all Zhu Zhu Pets products are regularly and frequently tested through an
independent testing service, Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services, the global
leader in Quality Assurance.
The Zhu Zhu Pets products are tested in laboratories several times during
production, and again before they ship from the factory. The testing laboratories that
conduct Zhu Zhu Pets product testing are accredited by the largest national and
international bodies and adhere to the strictest protocol for testing. In fact, all Zhu Zhu
Pets testing exceeds the levels for products distributed in the US, by passing the EN71
test required for products distributed in Europe.
"We are contacting the Good Guide people at this moment to share with them all
of our Mr. Squiggles and Zhu Zhu Pet testing data so we can get to the bottom of how
their report was founded,” Russ Hornsby said. "We want to assure everyone already
enjoying Mr. Squiggles or other Zhu Zhu Pets, and those planning to purchase Mr.
Squiggles or another Zhu Zhu Pet this holiday season, that the toy is 100 percent safe and
in compliance with all U.S. and European toy safety standards. I have been in the toy
industry for more than 35 years, and being a father of children myself, I would never
allow any substandard or unsafe product to hit the shelves. That’s why we always test to
not only meet but also exceed safety standards."

Are Zhu Zhu Pets Toxic? Recall Talk

My mother-in-law called me this morning about Zhu Zhu pets. My kids have one and she bought her great-grandson a couple. She told me that she saw on the news that they emit a dangerous toxic and wanted to know if I had heard anything about it.

I hadn't. I did a search and the only thing that I could find was on Good Guide. Good Guide says that they have a dangerous amount of tin and antimony. Tin can be harmful to the immune system and antimony can be linked to cancer, lung and heart problems.

This got me a little worried. I did some more searching, but have not been able to come up with anything. I am going to keep investigating this. I also ask that if any of my readers have heard anything about this, please leave me a comment. My mother-in-law is wanting to return the ones she bought and I need to decide if I need to get rid of the one my kids have. They absolutely love their Zhu Zhu pet, so I really don't want to.

Update: You can view the Zhu Zhu Pets response to the allegations of their toys being toxic by reading my follow up post.