Shock at `blade' in children's chocolate

From the archive, first published Friday 10th Feb 2006.

A Bradford grandmother was shocked to find the chocolate surprise she bought her granddaughter contained a small blade.

Tracey Everson bought her 16-month-old granddaughter Kodie a Kinder Surprise from Morrisons as a treat.

When opening it up for her she found a small blade inside, part of a sticky tape dispenser which youngsters had to assemble for themselves.

The packet did contain a warning saying that the product was not suitable for under-threes.

Mrs Everson says the toy inside was too sharp and dangerous even for a three-year-old and that the age warning was not clearly marked on the packaging.

Mrs Everson, 38, of Thornbury said: "I have bought them for her before and the toys have always been fine."

Mrs Everson said that luckily she opened the toy, rather than her granddaughter.

"I opened the toy up for her and was shocked to see a blade in there. It was packaged up so that you had to put it together yourself, so the blade was separate from the rest. It was quite sharp and could draw blood easily," she said.

Mrs Everson said she would not be buying the chocolates again because she did not think that the toys contained inside were suitable for children.

"It is the kind of thing you would expect in a Christmas cracker - not in a child's chocolate. I know that it is suitable only for children aged three and over but I do not think a three-year-old should be playing with it.

"I will not be buying it again for some time and I think other parents should be aware of the danger," she said.

David Jenkins, a product safety advisor for The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said he agreed with Mrs Everson.

"The toy is dangerous and it would be for an older child. What the public must do where they come across a dangerous item is to report it to their local trading standards department."

A spokesman for Ferrero UK Ltd, which produces Kinder Surprise eggs, said: "This particular toy was part of a Christmas seasonal range and included a shielded, integral cutter for cutting adhesive tape. Like all other Kinder Surprise toys, it had been certified as safe by government-accredited laboratories."

The spokesman said the packs were labelled with a prominent warning for the toy both on the wrapper and on the display.

"Next to the written warning there is a pictogram of a child's face to reinforce the message that the toy is not suitable for children under three and the written warning also includes a specific reminder to parents that "adult supervision is recommended"."

Mr Jenkins said there had been cases in the past where Kinder Surprise eggs had been reported as being potentially dangerous because of the small parts contained in some of the toys.

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