Watch out for cheap spinning battle toy brands when shopping, state warns. Some contain toxic levels of lead.

Nov. 26--The Minnesota Department of Commerce on Tuesday issued a ban on off-brand spinning battle toys after a Minnesota child was found to have toxic blood levels of lead and cadmium.

Ingesting lead or cadmium (a silver-white metal chemically similar to mercury) can cause serious health problems such as delayed brain development, kidney and bone damage, cancer and death.

The department stressed that the toxins were not found in name brand products such as Beyblade from Takaratomy or Hasbro, rather they were found in cheaper knock-offs of those toys.

"We are working with the online retailers to get these toys off their virtual shelves," said Steve Kelly, commissioner of the MDC. "When shopping for toys this holiday season and beyond, be cautious of toys that are significantly cheaper than name-brand products, include mistakes in the packaging or do not match the product's advertisements."

The child with elevated lead levels was discovered earlier this year. An investigation by the Chemicals in Products Interagency Team consisting of employees from the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Department of Commerce and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, led them to the spinning battle toys.

The concept of the toys is similar to Battling Tops, a board game developed by Ideal Toy Company in 1968. The introduction of the toy corresponded with the start of the Beyblade manga series of the same name. Kids get the tops spinning and compete to see which one will spin the longest. The "blades" are all different, encouraging kids to collect them.

CPIT tested 50 spinning battle toys and found that 15 of the off-brand products showed toxic levels of lead and cadmium.

The department sent orders to Amazon.com, AliExpress.com and Wish.com requiring them to do the following within 24 hours:

-- Stop selling the toxic products and remove them from their websites, or

-- Provide clear disclaimers on their websites that read, "This product is prohibited for sale or purchase by consumers in the State of Minnesota due to toxic levels of lead and cadmium" and

-- Update company information technology systems to stop the shipment of these products to Minnesota.

-- Additionally, companies are requested to initiate the process for repurchasing the banned products from Minnesota consumers.

The agency team cautions parents to watch for knock-off products that look similar to those from Hasbro and Takaratomy and to keep children from putting metal toys in their mouths.

For more information, look under "recent news" on the Minnesota Department of Commerce website.

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