hu Zhu Pets, the hottest Christmas toy of 2009, may be toxic and harmful, and possible Zhu Zhu Pet recall rumors are also circulating. CBS reported that a Bay Area consumer watchdog group called Good Guide.com says it found a chemical called antimony, which is a metal with potential health hazards.
Zhu Zhu Pets: Hottest Toy of the 2009 Christmas Season
One of the hottest – and hardest to get – Christmas toys of the season, Zhu Zhu Pet Hamsters are in the news again. This time, Cood Guide.com says the furry little robotic hamsters are part if a list of Top-Selling Toys with Low Ratings.
This is consistent with the somewhat ramshackle nature of China's prodigious economic growth. There was the contaminated pet food scandal in 2007 (which also brought to light that the FDA had often turned away many Chinese products). There are issues with China's small-scale privately-owned coal mines, which have huge safety issues. Not to mention China's pollution problem. This is very reminiscent of the excesses of unregulated industry in the Gilded Age in the US. The difference is that we had the likes of Upton Sinclair and muckraking reporters to lead campaigns against these abuses. China isn't likely to tolerate that degree of dissent.
Indeed, the growth-at-seemingly-any-cost approach that China has taken has also involved them in some very nasty regimes (again, akin to our support for United Fruit in Central America). There is its involvement in Sudan; its ties to a decidedly violent leader in Guinea, etc. Again, there is the question of whether China's top-down political structure can accommodate changes in the way it does business.
Will There Be a Zhu Zhu Pet Recall?
As of this writing, there hasn't been word an official Zhu Zhu recall. Stay informed and watch the news for any change. If you're still concerned, call your local Toys "R" Us store, or wherever you may have purchased the toy.
