Baby bird and a dinosaur make bad toy list
Advocacy group releases annual list of 'trouble' toys, citing chemicals in the Pretty Princess Puppy Purse and 'excessively loud' Playskool Triceratops.
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| The Stompers Triceratops is loud enough to cause hearing loss, said PIRG. |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- An "excessively loud" triceratops and a little girl's chemical-laced purse were among the items listed in the U.S. Public Interest Research Group's 2009 list of dangerous toys released Tuesday.
The 24th annual report, "Trouble in Toyland," targeted 16 examples of toys in 3 categories: toys that it considers dangerously loud, or containing small parts that may present choking hazards for small children, or containing toxic chemicals or lead.
The toys are made or marketed by various companies throughout the world.
In the first category, the PIRG, a public advocacy organization, listed toys that "pose potential choking hazards." This included three toys that "may violate" the ban on small parts for children under three, such as the Creative Wood Stacking Rings from Zaidy Products, the Real Wood Shape Sorter Barn from P&C Enterprise and an "unnamed play food tray" from World Market.
The PIRG also identified several toys with small parts that come uncomfortably close to violating bans, thereby posing potential hazards. This includes one of the Baby Born toy kids from Zapf Creation, the Pizza Planet Gift Pak from Mattel, the FurReal Baby Bird from Hasbro (HAS) and the Worky tool set from Nemmer.
"Although the toys do not violate the letter of the law, these parts could block a child's airway given their shape and size," the report said.
The report said that the baby bottle included with the FurReal Baby Bird "barely passes the small parts test." But Hasbro said the "allegations are false."
"The FurReal Friends product does not contain small parts, is properly age graded for kids four and up, and the packaging contains the appropriate labeling," said a Hasbro spokeswoman, in an e-mail.
The PIRG also listed several toys deemed "excessively loud" at close range, meaning that they match or exceed 85 decibels within 25 centimeters of the toy, presenting a risk of hearing loss.
The organization pegged the loud toys as the Kota and Pals Stompers Triceratops from Playskool, the Secret Saturdays Cryptid Claw from Mattel (MAT, Fortune 500), the Laugh & Learn Learning Phone from Fisher Price and the Bright Lights Phone from VTech.
Hasbro said, in an e-mail to CNNMoney.com, that its triceratops "complies with all sound requirements."
VTech said, in a letter to CNNMoney.com, "We disagree with the set-up under which PIRG tested the Bright Lights Phone, and hence also disagree with its conclusions."
Five products made the list for containing lead or "potentially toxic chemicals."
This includes a Touch and Feel Cloth Book called "Big Rex and Friends" from Priddy Books. The PIRG said that a red dot on one of the pages contains lead. Likewise, the Alligator Cell Phone charm from the Claire's retail chain also contains lead, the organization said.
The organization also identified a Collector's Series toy duck that has lead paint on its face and body. The organization said that the manufacturer of this toy was unknown, but that it was purchased at a Dollar Tree store.
A Dollar Tree spokesman told CNNMoney.com that PIRG informed his company of the lead-tainted duck on Oct. 29, and it was removed from stores at that time.
The PIRG identified two toys containing "potentially toxic" chemicals known as phthalates, including Pretty Princess Puppy Purse from Claire's and the Elmo Lunch Bag from Fast Forward New York. (See correction.)
A spokesman for Claire's, Steven Anreder, said the retailer is no longer selling the alligator phone charm. He also said the charm and the puppy purse are not toys.
The organization initially reported that Sassy manufactured the Elmo Lunch Bag. But Rick Locker, a lawyer representing Sassy, told CNNMoney.com that Sassy had nothing to do with the product. He sent the PIRG a letter requesting them to "cease and desist from disseminating erroneous information." The PIRG retracted the misidentification and said it regretted the error.
Efforts to reach other companies named in the report were not immediately successful.
A toy industry group reacted to the PIRG list.
"Protecting children will always be the toy industry's highest priority," said Joan Lawrence, vice president of safety standards for the Toy Industry Association, in an e-mail to CNNMoney.com. "Consumers have every reason to trust the safety of the three billion toys sold in America each year."
Jonathan Samet, publisher of thetoyinsider.com, an industry observer, said that he didn't want to minimize PIRG's warnings, but the noise warnings did not concern him as much as choking and lead.
"Choking is obviously the biggest issue," he said. "Right now, I think safety testing is at its highest level that it's probably ever been. If you are concerned, then take the toy away from the child and either return the toy to the retailer or just throw it away."
The PIRG released its list just three days ahead of Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year. This year, Black Friday retail sales are expected to outpace 2008, with 16% more shoppers participating.
Correction: An earlier version of this article, because of erroneous information released by U.S. PIRG, listed an incorrect manufacturer of the Elmo Lunch Bag. 
