Greg Laden's Blog

A young boy in the U.S. state of Arkansas is believed to be the latest child to fall ill after ingesting a popular, Chinese-made toy containing a chemical that turns into a powerful "date rape" drug when eaten.

Shelby Esses said Thursday that her 20-month-old son Jacob fell and went limp after getting into his older sister's Aqua Dots set, which was recalled Wednesday by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. It was the latest Chinese-made toy pulled from shelves in North America.

"That's when we knew what he had eaten and that things were pretty bad," she told ABC's "Good Morning America" television news and talk program

[source]

The toys are called Aqua Dots, distributed by Moose Enterprises of Australia. They are beads that meant to be arranged into a pattern then fused with the mere application of water.

Bindeez Toys (a brand of Moose Enterprise) has a full recall in process. The information on the Australian recall is here. Australian officials yanked the toys off the shelves after two or three children were hospitalized. Internationally and in the US, Toys 'R Us have also pulled the product.

Meanwhile, back in Arkansas where Jacob had fallen ill:

Dr. Matt Jaeger, of Arkansas Children's Hospital, treated Jacob and said he was very worried when he saw him.

"It was pretty dramatic," he told ABC. "He was unconscious in this coma for about six hours. And then over the course of just a few minutes, went from being completely asleep to wide awake and playing like nothing ever happened."

Meanwhile, toy sets seized in Hong Kong were being tested Thursday, a customs official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of policy. If the tests come back positive for the chemical, suppliers in Hong Kong could face a year in jail and fines of $12,877 (€8,746.77), she said.