Toys R Us, the world's largest retailer of children's products, will immediately be removing all direct-to-mouth toys for infants that contain diisononyl phthalate, a chemical used to soften plastic that as been found to cause liver damage in rats.
An environmental group that had called on the toy industry to ban the chemical on Friday applauded the move but said it didn't go far enough.
The chemical, which makes plastic flexible, has been widely used in many types of toys from baby teething rings to dolls since the 1980s.
While the chemical industry acknowledges that the chemical caused liver damage when given to rats, it says that was at a much higher dose than the exposure from toys, and tests have shown that the liver damage caused in animals does not occur in humans.
Nevertheless, the National Environmental Trust and Greenpeace, the groups that called for the ban, maintained that the chemical poses enough of a health threat to young children who chew or suck on toys that it should not be used.
At least seven European governments have banned the use of phthalates in certain toys such as teething rings that commonly are put in children's mouths. The U.S. government has taken no action, but several toy manufacturers, including Mattel Inc., have said they plan to phase out use of the additive.
The Toys R Us removal applies to items like teethers, rattlers and pacifiers, and will be applicable worldwide, the company announced in a statement.
The company said conflicting reports about the chemical had raised concern among customers, and prompted the removal. The operation should be complete by Nov. 18.
"Safety is our highest priority, and we want our customers to feel confident about shopping at Toys "R" Us," CEO Robert Nakasone said in the statement.
In a letter, National Environmental Trust President Philip Clapp praised the company but said limiting the removal to direct-to-mouth toys ignored that small children tend to put anything in their mouths, regardless of whether the objects are meant for that purpose. He called on the company to expand the removal to all toys with phthalates.
"We strongly believe that limiting the scope of your action to just one class of toys - infant toys intended for the mouth - protects some children but leaves millions of others still exposed to potentially dangerous chemicals," Clapp said.
The American Council on Science and Health, a New York-based health advocacy group that gets some funding from industry, announced the formation of a panel headed by former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop to review the safety of phthalates.
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