Toy safety story

Transcript

Transcript

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[Music]

Megan Beahen: Hi and welcome to Healthy Canadians, your space for nuanced conversations and expert insights about the health topics that matter to all of us. I'm your host, Megan Beahen. We've just made it through the holidays and if you have kids you probably have a few new toys kicking around the house. You're in luck, because today I'm talking about toy safety with Ashley Artelle, Compliance and Enforcement Advisor in the Healthy Environment and Consumer Safety Branch at Health Canada about toy safety. We'll chat about what to look out for when buying a toy and what to do if you have issues with them.

Although Healthy Canadians is brought to you by Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada. what we discuss won't always reflect the official positions or policies of the Government of Canada. But that's okay, these are conversations, not news releases. Okay, let's talk about toy safety.

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Hi Ashley, welcome to Healthy Canadians.

Ashley Artelle: Hi, thanks for having me.

Megan: So we're recording this episode on Cyber Monday. What a great day to talk about toy safety, as some of us are buying toys and getting ready for the holidays. The listeners won't hear this episode until later in the New Year, hopefully when you have a bunch of toys at home, you're reading some labels, you're following directions, and you're playing with those toys. I'm curious, did you do any shopping over the weekend, did you buy any toys for anyone in your life?

Ashley: I don't typically leave my shopping until this late.

Megan: Oh whoa!

Ashley: So most of my shopping's already done but I have purchased several toys this month for my kids.

Megan: Okay so who are you shopping for, how old are your kids?

Ashley: I have two daughters seven and four and then I also shop for my niece and nephew who are six and four, so around the same age group.

Megan: Okay perfect, so you're not only a toy safety compliance expert but you are a toy shopping aficionado you could say.

Ashley: Expert.

Megan: You know stuff about toys.

Ashley: I'm a mom expert.

Megan: Okay so take me through the experience of picking out a toy and what you look for in terms of safety when you're shopping for a loved one.

Ashley: So my big thing when I'm shopping for my girls is to make sure that they're age appropriate, especially when it comes to older siblings

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: So I find a lot of the time people think like "oh six plus and so it be perfect for their seven-year-old" but don't necessarily think who else is in the house.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: So when shopping for the seven-year-old I'm also making sure it would be okay for the four-year-old.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: I mean she's aged up since last year so under three is a bit, a bit more, I'm cautious when I'm shopping for that.

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: Especially when it comes to small parts. But no just making sure that it's age appropriate for both and also that what they're going to use it for is the intended use of the product.

Megan: Okay tell me more about that, can you give me an example?

Ashley: Okay intended use, not that I would purchase for my kids, but hockey sticks or mini hockey sticks specifically.

Megan: Mini hockey sticks, hot hot item at the holiday season.

Ashley: And they're more for decorative use or not necessarily rough play.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: So, stuff like that, like if you know that your child's going to use it to say play hockey in the basement or outside then I would buy like an appropriate stick for that, not necessarily the mini ones that are probably not made to withstand the force that a child's going to use.

Megan: Yeah that makes sense.

Ashley: And then you're, like, the product itself could break or if you're not using it for the intended purpose then that's when issues arise.

Megan: Right so when you're picking out a toy you're reading the label. So you already mentioned age, so you're thinking about the age of the person that you're buying for, and also the age of the other people that are going to be potentially in the household and might have access to that toy just lying around. Is there anything else on the label that people should look out for?

Ashley: So I would say when you're reading the label make sure to read the warnings, so specifically Nerf guns, they say right there not to aim at eyes or faces and also they suggest that you wear proper eye gear…

Megan: Okay.

Ashley:... which I feel like most people either don't know or they think it's fine but those things…

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: …can shoot at pretty…

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: …intense speeds and distances…

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: …so just make sure you're using it properly.

Megan: Okay, so using it for the intended use.

Ashley: Yeah.

Megan: And maybe that seems obvious to people, I don't know, reading a label but I think often people are buying toys for people that are not their own children, right?

Ashley: Likely, yeah.

Megan: So they don't necessarily know, they're not tapped into all the trends and the uses for toys, right?

Ashley: And we all know that kids tear into those things the minute they get it, so are you really seeing the packaging every time?

Megan: Oh good point.

Ashley: Yeah.

Megan: So read the label before someone's ripped it to shreds?

Ashley: Maybe, or make sure they save the instruction manual at least.

[Laughter]

Megan: Hot tip, I love it. Okay so after you've bought the toy, so you brought the toy home, it's in your household, you've ripped it open, you've saved the instructions. What are some of the ways we need to be mindful about kids playing safe with toys?

Ashley: So first when we're opening the package make sure we're safe with all the components that come off of it, such as the film bag. Make sure no one's playing with that, it gets tossed out right away.

Megan: So not even part of the toy?

Ashley: Not even part of the toy, just part of the packaging. And then also all the small pieces that come off of the packaging like those little plastic turny things on the back that release the toy…

Megan: Mmm, like the tie things?

Ashley: …make sure that's, yeah, make sure those are getting tossed right away. And then the next thing I would say to make sure you're doing, which we don't always do, I'm guilty of it as well, is inspect the toy.

Megan: Okay

Ashley: Just to make sure there's no damage to even using it or operating it yet and just making sure that it's intact in one piece.

Megan: Yeah, ready to go.

Ashley: Ready to go.

Megan: Do people love to have you around when they're opening gifts because you're going to be like all over it?

Ashley: No, nobody's once asked me that.

[Laughter]

Megan: And is there anything anyone needs to be mindful of when like storing toys? Like you spoke about access in terms of other kids, is there anything else people need to think about?

Ashley: Well that's a good question. Again I would say depending on who's in the house. So, if you have an older sibling and let's say they get like a marble kit. Just to make sure that you're storing the marbles away from smaller children.

Megan: If you have a problem with a toy something's missing or broken maybe, do you reach out to the company and Health Canada?

Ashley: I wouldn't say it's a requirement to reach out to both, but you can definitely reach out to the company if anything's missing or even if there is an incident or issue with the toy, they also are obligated to inform Health Canada.

Specifically, I know that one time I was missing pieces in a game that I had bought my child, so I had reached out to the company and it was fabulous customer service, within a week I got the missing pieces back. So it may be worthwhile reaching out, especially the bigger companies they do have a whole dedicated customer service group.

Megan: Yeah, worthwhile.

Ashley: Yeah, but otherwise if you see anything wrong or your child got injured while using the toy, then I definitely would suggest completing an incident report on our website. So it's pretty easy to fill out, you just need to provide a description of the product, the name of the product, what happened, and your contact information.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: So that we can then use that to follow up with the company.

Megan: Okay. So if there's a big problem with a toy and Health Canada has to get involved to either take some action of some kind, a warning, or maybe take the toy off the market, how would someone know about that?

Ashley: So they would know if they looked at our website, like specifically our recall website, they would all be posted there.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: You can also subscribe to get our recall notices. So you can subscribe, I believe it's just with your email, and then you'll get- you can sign up for daily notices or every time there's a recall. You can also subscribe depending on the group of products you want, so consumer products versus let's say food or pharmacy related, so.

Megan: Yeah so if you could have products including toys in your home that could have a recall and you can go ahead and sign up for notifications on the database, that's the fastest, easiest way, right, to get notified?

Ashley: Yeah. We do also post information on our Facebook and Twitter pages.

Megan: So when there's a significant recall, a big deal recall…

Ashley: Yeah.

Megan: …then we usually see it on Health Canada social media and that's usually when media outlets start to pick it up too, so you see it in the news.

Ashley: Typically, yeah.

Megan: So tell me about your role in this process. So you are a Compliance and Enforcement Advisor, when do you get involved when there's a problem with a toy?

Ashley: So, we come in pretty early. When you, let's say you submit an incident report, the triage group will get it first who then will disseminate them up, I say up but, to our group. So we come in fairly early in the process and then we'll assess the incident itself and then see where that report needs to go. So some of them come in from industry let's say and right away they've already said they wanted to do a recall. So it's pretty simple at that point, we'll assign it to the appropriate region and then work with the region and post a recall fairly quickly depending on the level of severity.

When a consumer submits an incident report it's a little bit more investigative work that needs to be done. So, what was the issue? We'll reach out, not me specifically, but the inspector will reach out to the company, see if they know of any other incidents involving the same product or the same issue. And then we'll kind of investigate from there like, does this product meet the regulations? Do they have testing to prove it meets the regulations? Is this product safe?

Sometimes they can prove all that, it's safe, it may have been an isolated incident or like a one off. Or a lot of the time misuse because people don't always use everything for its intended purpose

Megan: You've got to follow the label, yeah, directions.

Ashley: Yeah, so in that case if they can prove it's compliant then we don't do much after that, there's no real enforcement actions. However, if they can't or we've tested it and we see that it doesn't meet the regulations then typically we'll, that's where we issue a recall.

Megan: Okay, and so do you have to get like a few of those incident reports before you start to investigate or determine that there might be a problem?

Ashley: Not always, like sometimes it may just be that one time…

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: …or the number of products sold also doesn't affect our recalls, like we've recalled for two products sold…

Megan: Oh wow.

Ashley: …yeah because it's still if it's not compliant then it doesn't necessarily matter how many were sold, we still have to inform the people of Canada, so…

Megan: So what is Health Canada's role in general in making sure toys are safe? So, I'm guessing we don't test every single toy before it hits the market.

Ashley: We do not.

Megan: Because there's a lot of toys out there, we don't have that many people, so how does that work?

Ashley: So we're a post-market regulatory program, so we don't test anything prior to it going out. That's on the company to make sure that their product is safe and follows all of our regulations and requirements prior to. Once it's on the market we'll look at stuff based on incidents, or also every year we do what's called compliance verification projects. So these projects, so specifically for toys this year right now we're looking at plush.

Megan: All plush?

Ashley: All plush, with hard eyes or nose like there are…if it's just 100% soft material it's not the same.

Megan: Teddy bear project.

Ashley: Yeah teddy bear project, sure.

Megan: Code name teddy bear project, okay.

Ashley: So every year we'll test different things. So last year it was magnets, this year it's plush, like most of them are on a two-to-six-year rotation.

Megan: Cool.

Ashley: So when we're doing those then we'll sample typically that's about 25 to 30 samples for most of the toy projects and then we'll test them internally at our lab.

Megan: Toy laboratory.

Ashley: Yes.

Megan: Can you paint me a picture of the toy laboratory? What happens there?

Ashley: Oh, lots of fun stuff. So specifically for plush, since we're doing it right now…

Megan: I'm kind of scared to hear your answer to be honest because I'm scared for the plush, like it sounds gory

Ashley: I guess you could say that.

Megan: Please go ahead.

Ashley: We're mainly looking at the hard plastic components that could come loose and then ultimately be a choking hazard for tiny children.

Megan: Okay, okay.

Ashley: So for the eyes and nose we put on like a three-prong claw…I'm just visualizing it

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: …and then the toy hangs with a weight attached to that claw for x amount of time and x amount of weight to make sure that it can withstand. And then if the eye or the nose pop off, then essentially it doesn't pass and we'll likely post a recall.

Megan: Wow.

Ashley: Well if it doesn't pass we do pass a recall.

Megan: So it's mimicking a kid like trying to pull off the eye or the nose.

Ashley: Exactly, like grabbing it or maybe like even with their teeth and pulling.

Megan: Okay, cool.

Ashley: Mhm.

Megan: And what does the magnet look like when it's being tested?

Ashley: The magnet's tested for force.

Megan: Okay, like how magnetic it is?

Ashley: Yes, like it's only allowed to be a certain magnetic flux.

Megan: Okay, it can't be too magnetic.

Ashley: It can't because then what happens if someone swallows more than one, they can attach inside your gastrointestinal tract and that's where major issues can arise.

Megan: Wow.

Ashley: So they can't be too magnetic or forceful that it could rip through anything if swallowed, but…

Megan: I think parents will be really happy to hear that Health Canada also tests toys for sound. Can you tell me about that?

Ashley: We do, and sound's a fascinating one I guess you could say because we test sound at different levels depending on what the toy is used for. Example: handheld, tabletop, or on the floor. So obviously a toy on the floor, it's a greater distance away from your child's ear the sound can be slightly higher, whereas handheld probably right near their face or right at their ear. It wouldn't have the same levels as say the floor or even the countertop.

Megan: Yeah, so how do you how do you test that in the lab? You're testing the volume of something so it's not too loud to damage…

Ashley: A decibel reader

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: So you're testing the volume when you use the toy, they'll test how loud it is and if it's within the specific range it's allowed to be for the intended use of it.

Megan: Okay so this is for kids' safety, this is not intended to protect the sanity of parents that might be in the room listening to these toys, correct?

Ashley: Correct, unfortunately we don't have a test method for parents' annoyance or irritability.

Megan: That's good, that's good. Okay so at the end of these big testing periods, what is like the outcome. Like you've tested now 25 plush, what do we do with that information?

Ashley: So, as we test, if it passes that's it, we follow up with the company saying your product passed. We also inform all the companies that their product has been chosen to be tested.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: If it fails, then we just start the regular recall process

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: So if it's a level two let's say you have x amount of days from the day it failed, determined it's a recall, until the day of posting.

Megan: Cool.

Ashley: So we just follow that. So throughout the project we'll just frequently have things that will be recalled on an ongoing basis, it's not all or none.

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: Or like wait till the end and then deal with it.

Megan: Yeah yeah yeah.

Ashley: It's just as the reports come in.

Megan: It's an ongoing thing.

Ashley: Yeah. And we do post all of our findings on our website so at the end of each year I want to say, all the what's called Enforcement Summary Reports. So it's a very simple document. It just says what was tested and then what the outcome was.

Megan: Cool. So if you're living in Canada, you're curious about your toys at home and whether they're being tested in the toy laboratory or not, you can go and find out.

Ashley: You can.

Megan: Cool.

Ashley: Some light Saturday reading.

Megan: Yeah for sure. You mentioned magnets and why they're a risk. I know there are a few items that are toys or associated with toys that are like major red flags. Can you tell me some other ones?

Ashley: So as you say magnets are one to be mindful of.

Megan: Tell us how to be mindful of magnets.

Ashley: I think the main thing is again who the product's for and who's in the house. Because it's not- when it comes to magnets it's not just toys it's also magnets that can be sold in novelty sets or entertainment for adults

Megan: Right, that's a good point because we're not just talking about parents and kids here, we're talking about toys that adults might buy as well.

Ashley: Yeah like a lot of the magnet fidget toys or desk toys.

Megan: Yep.

Ashley: So it's just to be mindful of again who's in the house and what they may use that product for. Because we all know young kids, they'll put things in their mouth.

Megan: Right, so the issue is that the magnet toys can be small and they might be ingested and once ingested that's a big problem.

Ashley: Another one?

Megan: Yeah, yeah. Give me another one.

Ashley: Another one I would say just to be mindful of is water beads.

Megan: Yeah. Tell us what a water bead is first of all.

Ashley: So, a water bead is a tiny polymer that can swell up five to ten times its size once placed in liquid.

Megan: Okay. Why does anyone buy a water bead?

Ashley: They're often used for sensory bins or even as like home decor and vase fillers.

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: So the tricky thing about them is they start off really, really small, and most of the time they're very colorful. So, to young children they can look like candy or anything you'd want to put in your mouth. But then once ingested they can swell up significantly that they could block your intestinal tract. But the other thing too is small children may put them in their ears or nose causing issues. Or also like if they're aspirated in they can go down your windpipe, which ultimately would stay stuck.

Megan: So what's the deal with water beads?

Ashley: So water beads are actually a product category that Health Canada is taking a closer look at currently. So as of July of this year they just made it on to table one of our general prohibitions.

Megan: And what is table one?

Ashley: So table one is when we identify the hazard of concern. So it's made it on table one, we're now taking a greater look at the standards that are currently out there or what this means for the future of water beads and how we look at them when it comes to a hazard. So, after table one they can make it to table two, which is the comment period where we put all our findings out there. And then industry has time to comment on it.

And then depending on what comes out of that it can make it to table three. So table three is when we've determined that it is a danger to human health and safety. So for example, magnets is currently on table three. So it just states that any small powerful magnet needs to meet one of the four requirements listed. So right now it's either the toy requirements or other standards that are equivalent that are out there. So, they're not banned, per se, they're just- they have to meet, if it's not our regulation, then they definitely have to meet the safety standards that are out there in order for them to sell their product.

Megan: Okay that makes sense. So if something's in table three you can still buy it, it just means there are more restrictions in terms of what a company needs to do who's producing and selling them.

Ashley: Correct, because our regulations were written a while ago and we do update them, however they don't include all of the new toys that come out on the marketplace.

Megan: I bet.

Ashley: It's an ever-evolving category let's say.

Megan: Okay, so that's a good one to be mindful of. Tell me about button batteries. What even is a button battery?

Ashley: A button battery is a small cell battery

Megan: Okay, like something you'd find in a watch or certain toys?

Ashley: Certain toys yeah they do- when it comes to toys they have to be in an enclosed compartment.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: But they can be tricky. The issue there again is if swallowed. So a lot of the issues are swallowing issues when it comes to toys, because they can do a lot of damage once inside. And a lot of parents may not know that their kids even ingested anything right?

Megan: Right.

Ashley: So, they can break down in the saliva and cause a lot of internal issues.

Megan: Okay. Okay let's talk about buying toys online versus buying them in the store.

Ashley: Ooo okay.

Megan: So, if I'm buying stuff online where I'm let's say not necessarily aware of like the country of origin, is there anything I need to be like aware of in terms of like safety?

Ashley: Well we all know that a lot of shopping has shifted over the years to online.

Megan: Are you buying your toys online Ashley?

Ashley: Am I? Did I? Actually, I would say maybe 25%.

Megan: That's pretty good.

Ashley: I still like to go in the store and like see what I'm getting.

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: And sometimes especially at this time of year everything's on sale.

Megan: So if people are buying stuff online, what do they need to be more- is there anything they need to be more aware of versus if you were like in Canada at a store?

Ashley: I mean online you definitely don't know where the product's always coming from, or how it's made. So it is a little bit trickier. I would say just be more mindful where it's coming from, if it's like a respected company versus maybe one you've never heard of or a website you've never heard of.

Megan: Right.

Ashley: Just definitely be more mindful when you're shopping online.

Megan: Are there products in Canada, that are not allowed in Canada that are like completely banned, that you could get outside of Canada. Whether online or not online…

Ashley: Good question.

Megan: …that we shouldn't be bringing into Canada?

Ashley: There are. One- if we're looking more in the toy realm it's not necessarily a toy, but baby walkers.

Megan: What's a baby walker?

Ashley: A baby walker is where you can put your baby, they're like fully enclosed in it like- or encased I guess I should say. Encased in it.

Megan: Yeah.

Ashley: And then on wheels.

Megan: Oh, I thought those were cool. Those aren't allowed?

Ashley: They seem cool. The tricky thing is then your baby has full range to walk around everywhere or go down the stairs accidentally and because they're enclosed in it, they can't easily get out.

Megan: Okay.

Ashley: It also raises them so they can like now have easy access to let's say a countertop or a coffee table or objects that are not meant for them to have access to.

Megan: Okay yeah.

Ashley: So they're pretty tricky, so those were banned back in 2004.

Megan: Wow.

Ashley: But they're not banned in the States.

Megan: And like people probably- oh they're not banned in the States?

Ashley: No so you can…

Megan: …still buy them wherever you go in the States.

Ashley: One could be shopping in the States and cross the border.

Megan: Or buy online and you wouldn't know that it was banned. If you're buying it on something from a US retailer online you wouldn't necessarily know that that product's banned here, right?

Ashley: True. They're not supposed to sell it…

Megan: Oh okay.

Ashley: …into Canada, but we all know that sometimes

Megan: Could have access.

Ashley: Yeah.

Megan: So if people have baby walkers at home...

Ashley: Throw them out!

Megan: Maybe they bought it in 1999. What should they do?

Ashley: Definitely throw it out if it's from 1999.

Megan: Throw it right in the garbage?

Ashley: Yeah.

Megan: Okay, hot tip.

Ashley: Yeah. If you see them on the marketplaces do not, do not pick them up.

Megan: Ashley, it has been a pleasure talking to you today. I want to leave listeners with a final tip. What would you tell people who are shopping for toys?

Ashley: I would just like to reiterate that be mindful when purchasing toys of who you're purchasing the toy for, but also who's in the house and who may have access to the toy. Safety always comes first!

Megan: Love it, thank you Ashley.

Ashley: Thank you for having me.

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Megan: Thanks for tuning in to Healthy Canadians. If you're watching on YouTube, don't forget to click the like button below and subscribe to stay up to date on future episodes. Find us wherever you get your podcasts and leave us a review if you like what you've heard. For more information on the health topics that matter to you, visit canada.ca/health.

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Learn more

• Toy safety - Canada.ca
• Magnet safety - Canada.ca
• Battery safety: Button batteries - Canada.ca
• Advanced search – Recalls, advisories and safety alerts – Canada.ca
• Water beads may pose life-threatening risks to young children - Canada.ca

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