By Hannah Ahmed
An Amazon toy has been ‘rejected at the border’ after concerns were raised over an “asphyxiation risk.” The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) identified a pack of “water beads supplied in transparent plastic bottle which grow when submerged in water” as a “serious choking and health risk” due to the beads expanding to more than half of their original size after 12 hours in water. According to the official body the JACISK brand item, which has the model number XSZ01 and barcode X001KWB6WB, presents a risk of asphyxiation due if one of the beads is swallowed by a young child. The OPSS alert read: “The product presents a serious health and choking risk as it includes water beads that expand to more than 50% of their original size within 12 hours of soaking them in water. “If the small, dehydrated beads are swallowed by a young child, the bead may expand inside the digestive tract causing a blockage. The product also presents a risk of asphyxiation as if a bead is swallowed in its hydrated form, it may block a young child鈥檚 airway.” READ MORE: Warning for UK households over ‘contaminated’ item in their cupboards It added the toy did not therefore meet the Toys (Safety) Regulations 2011, which outlines all of the safety requirements which must be met before an item is permitted to be sold in the UK. The decision taken by the official body was to “reject” the import “at the border” due to the health and safety risk of the product. OPSS guidelines have previously issued a safety alert over water beads, with struct instructions issued over keeping them away from children of a certain age, in addition to advising parents to watch kids who play with them at all times. The body explained: Advisories put in place such as these stem from a government danger warning, as the water beads have been linked to child fatalities oversea, and to serious harm to children in the UK, the OPSS said. READ MORE: Popular product sold at Superdrug urgently recalled over ‘serious chemical risk’ It added: “Water beads have been linked to child fatalities overseas and to serious harm to children in the UK. “The main harms occur when dehydrated beads are swallowed and then expand in the gastrointestinal tract, causing a blockage that requires surgical removal. “Ingested water beads can be very difficult to detect and do not show up on x-ray, making clinical diagnosis challenging. “Harm can also occur when a bead is accidentally inhaled into the airways, which can lead to coughing and choking.”