Toys containing high levels of lead have been found on store shelves in New York, according to the state’s attorney general.
Eric Schneiderman’s office said it found some jewelry-making kits supplied by CRA-Z-ART contained some parts that had as much as 10 times the amount of lead allowed by federal limits.
The AG’s office has been testing the lead levels of children’s products sold across the state since October.
Federal law limits lead levels in children’s products to 100 parts per million (ppm). The AG’s office claimed its tests showed some of the wristbands in the kits had levels of 120 to 980 ppm.
The kits that the state alleges have wristbands with unsafe lead levels are:
• Shimmer N’ Sparkle Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Ultimate Gem Machine
• Shimmer N’ Sparkle Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Gem Charm and Slider Bracelets
• My Look Cra-Z-Art Cra-Z-Jewelz Gem Creations Ultimate Gem Machine
The attorney general claimed the kits were sold at K-Mart, Target and Toys “R” Us stores across the state, as well as on Amazon.
“My office’s discovery of children’s products containing high levels of lead for sale on store shelves in New York points to an alarming breach in the safety net that is supposed to protect our kids from dangerous chemicals,” Schneiderman said in a statement Friday.
CRA-Z-ART, which is based in New Jersey, said all of its products are tested for lead, including the ones in question.
“We know it tested fine. Every product has to be tested for the stores we sell to… we don’t sell anything that isn’t tested,” Chief Operating Officer Randy Tarino told CNNMoney.
He said that these products are made overseas, and that the lead tests can also happen outside the U.S.
The company is investigating, and he added that the problem could be limited to a batch of products.
Schneiderman has asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to require a national recall of the products, and his office has launched a probe to learn how the products made it to sale.
“My office will investigate — and hold accountable — those responsible for allowing toxic products to reach our children. No parents should have to worry that a toy they buy may poison their child,” he said in the release.
