Editor’s Note: This story was updated on Dec. 14 with a statement from one of the toys’ manufacturers denying the allegations in the report.
While opening Christmas presents can be exciting for children, there are a few toys parents might want to avoid.
» RELATED: Safety group announces top 10 dangerous toys for 2018's holiday season
The U.S. Public Interest Research Group Education Fund recently released its annual "Trouble in Toyland" safety survey, which examines the safety of toys.
For the assessment, the U.S. PIRG Education Fund purchased dozens of toys sold on Amazon and Walmart.com and tested them in a Consumer Product Safety Commission-accredited laboratory.
After analyzing the results, they found 15 of 40 inspected toys could be potential safety hazards for children, with slime products being the most prominent.
There were six slime products on the list: Kangaroos Original Super Cool Slime, Kidsco Glow in The Dark Slime, Toysmith Jupiter Juice Slime, iBaseToy Fluffy Slime, Haniex Soft Magic Crystal Slime and Meland Fluffy Slime.
The experts said the items have “dangerously high boron content” that can be hazardous if ingested.
“At moderate to high doses, boron ingestion can cause nausea and vomiting and may have long-term negative effects on an individual’s reproductive health,” the report read.
The organization also pointed out toys that may share personal information with third parties. They listed Dash, a robot toy sold by Wonder Workshop, as well as the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition.
While the Dash robot does have a microphone, Wonder Workshop says it is not capable of recording.
“The robots cannot listen in or to the user. It is not technically possible,” the company said in a statement emailed to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The robot's microphones are only capable of determining that they hear a voice-like sound; that is how the robot recognizes which direction to turn towards.
“There's no facility for recording audio via the robot. Although a 5-sec audio clip can be recorded with the app and then transferred to the robot, the 5-sec audio clip is not stored anywhere and is immediately deleted after it’s played, with no mechanism for retrieving that audio digitally either via Bluetooth or any other mechanism.”
U.S. PIRG also rounded up a few toys with small parts that have potential choking hazards. They said some of these toys, such as Hatchimals and L.O.L. Surprise Toys, not only are possibly dangerous, but they also do not have proper labeling.
Want to learn more? Take a look at the full assessment here.
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