The toys did not meet current regulations and were classified as dangerous for infants.
Customs in the northwestern French city of Le Havre destroyed 40,000 lions and stuffed dogs from China because they did not comply with current regulations, especially with magnets dangerous for children, the general direction of customs reported on Thursday.
The stuffed animals, which could “cause injuries, even very serious intestinal perforations”, were destroyed Wednesday by “crushing or incinerated”. “These toys, analyzed by the Lille [north] customs laboratory, turned out to be dangerous,” said the same source.
“The expert report reveals numerous irregularities and especially seams three times less resistant to traction than current standards, releasing magnets about four times more powerful than the maximum authorized and of a size that can be swallowed by children “, specifies the general direction of customs.
The dolls were intercepted “in August” from China “and were destined for a company based in the Paris region.” Some of the toys were sent for analysis to the Lille laboratory and the shipment was “blocked [at the port] pending the results”.
Taking into account the analyzes, “it was decided to proceed with the destruction of the batch, under the control of customs services. This type of irregularity is especially dangerous due to these magnets. If they are accessible and ingested by accident, they can cause injuries, including very serious intestinal perforations”, he pointed.
“Surprisingly, the importing company provided customs with documents issued by a testing laboratory in China showing that these toys meet the standards,” according to the same source.
French customs controlled 8.3 million toys in 2019 (+ 23%).
