IRELAND’S CONSUMER WATCHDOG is warning parents about potentially dangerous fidget spinners and has impounded 200,000 that have arrived from overseas.
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has said that some of the fidget spinners being imported to meet demand may not meet safety standards and could pose a choking risks.
Fidget spinners are the current toy craze among school children and Irish stores have been struggling to keep up with demand.
The toys are essentially three sections that spin around a weighted disc and playing with them usually involves attempting tricks.
Some schools have begun banning them because they are proving to be a distraction in class.
Stores have reported being in short supply of fidget spinners and the CCPC has now said that almost a quarter of a million have been stopped and seized.
Some may be destroyed if they are found to be potentially unsafe.
“Since 8 May, the CCPC, in collaboration with Revenue and Customs, has stopped and seized approximately 200,000 fidget spinners,” the consumer watchdog said in a statement today.
We are currently examining samples of these products and if we find that they do not comply with product safety legislation, they may be sent back to where they originally came from or destroyed.
The CCPC has said that some have already been checked and have been found to be non-compliant with consumer legislation.
Among the problems are:
Consumers are being urged to check that the fidget spinners to ensure they have a CE mark but also to check if they have parts that may be dangerous to children.
“Check if the fidget spinner has any detachable small parts that could lodge in the ears, nose, or throat, and cause an injury to a child. Recent media outlets reported that a 10-year old child required surgery after a fidget spinner part they swallowed became lodged in their oesophagus,” the CCPC said.
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