Health · Healthcare & Policy · 1 hr ago
Argentina bans Pinch Family squishy toys over excessive phthalates
Argentina has banned sales of Pinch Family squishy toys across the country after tests found excessive phthalates in the products.
The soft plastic figures are made in China and have been sold in shops, on social media and through online marketplaces.
Tests found phthalate levels more than twice the permitted limit for this type of toy.
Phthalates are used to make some plastics flexible, but their use in toys is restricted to reduce children’s exposure to materials that do not meet safety rules.
Importers, distributors and retailers must remove and destroy their stock and post information about the ban on their websites.
Those who keep selling the toys may face sanctions, and consumer groups have advised families not to buy them or to stop using them if they already have them.
Argentina’s consumer protection authority banned the sale nationwide of Pinch Family squishy toys after tests found excessive phthalate levels.
The ban was formalized on Wednesday through Disposition 804/2026.
The toys are soft plastic figures made in China and sold in shops, on social media and through online marketplaces.
Tests found phthalate concentrations at more than twice the permitted limit, according to the Argentine Toy Industry Chamber.
Importers, distributors and retailers must remove the toys from sale, destroy their stock and report the ban on their websites.
- Who
- Argentina’s Subsecretariat for Consumer Defense and Commercial Loyalty issued the ban.
- What
- It prohibited the sale nationwide of Pinch Family squishy toys because tests found excessive phthalates.
- When
- The measure was formalized on Wednesday, October 14, 2026.
- Where
- Throughout Argentina.
- Why
- Tests found phthalate concentrations at more than twice the permitted limit for these products.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Argentine Toy Industry Chamber reported another soft toy, Squeezy Dumpling, over excessive benzene levels.
Argentina formalized the nationwide ban on Pinch Family squishy toys through Disposition 804/2026.
- Product
- Pinch Family squishy toys
- Disposition
- 804/2026
- Phthalate levels
- More than twice the permitted limit
- Manufacturing country
- China
- Required action
- Remove available units, destroy stock and report the ban on websites
What people are saying
These cases show that controls and sanctions are important when products are dangerous to health and show no type of label or conformity marking.