‘Take them away from children!’ Costco toys that could cause ‘kidney and brain damage’ urgently recalled
Britons have been issued an urgent safety warning as a children’s garden toy sold by Costco is recalled due to lead exposure risk.
The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) warned that the Long Handle Hoe and Rake in Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set poses a “serious chemical risk”.
Long Handle Hoe and Rake in Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set sold by Costco
Type: Toys – Garden Set
Brand: Stanley Jr
Costco Item Number: 1662178
Batch: 12/2023
SKU: SGH021-08-SY
Country of Origin: China
Product Description: A yellow and black rake and hoe with a long handle included as part of a seven-piece children’s gardening toy set
Officials discovered “excess concentrations of migratable lead” in the yellow paint on the handles of these children’s toys.
The yellow paint on the handle of the long hoe was found to contain 800 ± 12mg/kg of migratable lead. The yellow paint on the handle of the long rake was found to contain 210 ± 4mg/kg of migratable lead.
These toys do not meet the requirements of the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011 and have therefore been recalled from end users across the UK, with owners told to stop using them “immediately”.
The OPSS warned that lead exposure can cause “a wide range of adverse effects, including damage to the kidneys, the circulatory system and the developing brain”. The unborn child and young children are particularly sensitive to lead.
For further information on the health effects of lead exposure, Britons can read the official guidance from the UK Health Security Agency, entitled ‘Lead: health effects, incident management and toxicology’,
Affected shoppers were encouraged to visit https://www.recall-rtb.com/pages/register-uk to register the product and request a free replacement.
For further details, they can access the Red Toolbox recall site. The official notice reads: “Consumers should immediately stop using the Long Handle Hoe and Rake and take them away from children.”
Customers were told that they would receive a replacement hoe and rake upon registration.
They were assured that the recall only involves the long handle hoe and rake that are part of the Stanley Jr. Kids Wheelbarrow and 7-piece Garden Set sold exclusively at Costco batch 12/2023.”
Additional information
PSD case number: 2503-0011
Notified by: Office for Product Safety and Standards
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The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission reported the recall of this product back in September 2024.
Product and food recalls should always be taken seriously to ensure the safety of shoppers.
Nestlé cereals sold in the UK were recently recalled as they posed a “choking hazard”.
The Food Standards Agency urged shoppers: “If you have bought any of the above products, do not eat them. Instead return them to the store from where they were bought for a full refund.”