Warnings have been issued over a ‘toxic’ slime borax ingredient that children may be being exposed to unsafe levels of.
The popular children’s slime toys have been tested by consumer group Which? and the results are worrying.
They tested 11 of the most popular children’s slime toys and found that eight of them contained levels of boron – a chemical in borax – that were above recommended safety levels. It’s understood that the ingredients lists may simply say ‘contact lens solution’ which contains borax, the levels of which are not actually listed.
Slime borax levels cause for concern
The slime borax levels have triggered a cause for concern. The eight popular products that were tested and were found to contain potentially unsafe levels of borax were:
- Brezeh Free Slime (orange) by Brezeh;
- Crystal Slime Magic Clay (pink) by Baker Rose;
- Fluffy Slime (blue) by LOYO;
- Fluffy Slime (pink) by CCINEE;
- Jupiter juice (pink) by Toysmith;
- My Fluffy Slime (green) by Virtuotrade;
- Slime Toy (purple) by iBase Toy.
There are also concerns about slime borax levels in some homemade slime products as well. All the products listed above are said to be readily available on shopping platforms like Amazon.
Why is borax dangerous?
The borax in slime is used to keep it sticky. Boron, the chemical contained within borax, is known to cause irritation, diarrhoea, vomiting and cramps, which is why levels of borax in products should be kept to a minimum.
Unfortunately, the Which? investigation has found that the slime borax levels in some products is at potentially dangerous any may be ‘toxic’ in terms of recommended amounts.
Which? has reportedly passed the information about their findings on to product regulators with calls for better systems moving forward to protect children from being exposed to harm. It’s not yet known whether any child has suffered any health issues that have been linked to playing with slime, but the issues raised by the consumer action group are nonetheless concerning.
