The consumer watchdog group that said Zhu Zhu Pets and other popular toys contained antimony and chromium in levels that exceeded federal standards now says their report was wrong. The only thing to do when you've besmirched the reputation of an electronic hamster, of course, is to issue a correction, which is what GoodGuide did today.
Their latest blog post says they stand by their report that the Zhu Zhu pets contained antimony and tin, but they should not have reported that the toys did not meet federal standards. Their handheld-scanner testing method was different than the soluble test method that is required to meet federal standards, which means that you can't compare the numbers directly. This ABC news video report says the soluble test method is more reliable for telling us which chemicals our kids might actually ingest or touch.
Cepia, the maker of Zhu Zhu pets, has maintained that these toys passed appropriate federal tests and are safe. The company recently made the Mr. Squiggles hamster testing data available on their website for parents who want to check it out for themselves.
None of this, of course, will make it any easier to find a Zhu Zhu hamster in a store before Christmas, with or without the antimony and tin. Does the testing method difference change your mind about the results from GoodGuide?