Slime toys are having a bad year. Now even Hamleys is stopping the sales of a slime product amid safety fears after new tests by a watchdog group.
BBC reports that consumer group Which? has tested 13 slimes and six broke the rules on boron. This comes with the mineral borax which is used to make slime sticky.
The problem is boron is toxic and overexposure to it can lead to some nasty side-effects like vomiting, cramps, skin irritation and other. Which? says it tested several slimes sold at various retailers.
All of the products had CE certification which should mean they are totally safe. The tests though say otherwise. The EU safety limit is 300mg/kg for slime and 1200mg/kg for putty.
The Frootiputti slime by Goobands though had 4 times the EU limit, the consumer group says. This made Hamleys to pull the sales of it. HGL and Goobands argued that their products were actually putty, not slime, and met EU safety standards, BBC reports. Jexybox, said it would take all of its slime products off Ebay.
Even so, Hamleys and Amazon also have stopped the sales. Argos has said it’s investigating the report and it will come to a decision.
Among the slime products which aren’t safe are: DIY Slime Kit by Essenson, HGL’s Ghosbusters slime and Fun foam by Zuru Oosh.
