The Consumer Rights Protection Centre (PTAC) has seized several samples of toys from different manufacturers and sent them for laboratory testing. Specialists are checking for the presence of benzene and 18 other chemical substances. So far, the results obtained have not revealed any violations in any of the tested samples. However, the checks are ongoing, and final conclusions will be made after receiving all test results. PTAC emphasizes that a chemical smell does not in itself mean that the toy is dangerous. Moreover, findings of violations in another country cannot be automatically applied to products sold in Latvia: externally identical Squishy Dumplings may have different manufacturers and differ in composition. PTAC specialists also checked the labeling of toys in regular stores. No violations have been found so far. A different situation has arisen with online stores. In all checked PTAC online shops, deficiencies were found in providing mandatory information about the product. The agency is currently contacting sellers, and in several online stores, Squishy Dumpling has already been removed from sale. PTAC promises to publish more detailed results after completing laboratory studies, store inspections, and monitoring of online trade. Customers are advised to purchase children's toys only from reliable sellers and to check for the presence of information about the manufacturer, address, product identification data, and CE marking. PTAC does not recommend buying toys without CE marking.
