Action To Protect Children from Harmful Products

The Canadian Government is taking action to protect our children from potential cadmium poisoning by proposing new guidelines regarding the amount of cadmium allowed to be found in children's jewelry.

Cadmium is a toxic chemical that can be harmful when ingested. While there is no known risk to health from simply wearing jewelry made with high levels of cadmium; for children, accidental ingestion, or prolonged licking and sucking, of these products can cause the metal poisoning and render your child very ill. I’ve seen many children sucking on their necklaces and pendants, so I can see how this can pose a potential threat to our children’s health. This is why Health Canada proposes to amend their current guidelines to have the cadmium concentration in children's jewelry lowered to 130 parts per million (0.013%), which is believed to be a safe amount.

"Parents want the products they buy for their children to be safe", said Pamela Fuselli, Executive Director at Safe Kids Canada. "Young children explore their world through touch and taste, so guidelines like this ensure products children use often will be safer."

AP Photo/Tony Dejak

In February 2010, an entire line of Wal-Mart exclusive Miley Cyrus jewelry was found to contain high levels cadmium and on June 4 the same year, cadmium was detected in the paint used on promotional drinking glasses for the movie Shrek Forever After, sold by McDonald's Restaurants. This triggered a massive recall of 12 million glasses throughout the United States and Canada.

Health Canada encourages anyone involved in the import, manufacture or sale of children's jewelry to take all necessary precautions to ensure that their products are safe for Canadian children.

Good to know that the government is taking some of the necessary steps to protect our children. For more information visit Health Canada.