Various antique silver and brass coloured pendants, beads and charms — recall 22312

Reported risk: Health Canada's sampling and evaluation program has revealed that these recalled pieces of jewellery contain lead in excess of the allowable limits. In addition, these items contain cadmium in excess of guidance for safe levels proposed recently by Health Canada. Under the Children's Jewellery Regulations of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act , it is illegal to import, advertise or sell jewellery items that appeal primarily to children under 15 years of age and contain more than 600 mg/kg total lead. Furthermore, it is prohibited to manufacture, import, advertise or sell any consumer product that is a danger to human health and safety, such as the presence of cadmium in jewellery. Lead and cadmium are known to be very toxic metals, especially for children. A range of serious health effects have been associated with exposure to lead and cadmium, including anemia, vomiting, diarrhea, serious brain injury, convulsions, coma, as well as effects related to the liver, kidneys, heart and immune system. In extreme cases, there have been deaths. Children can ingest lead or cadmium when they chew, suck, or swallow jewellery items containing these metals. In laboratory testing, all five (5) pendants were found to contain lead in levels which exceed the legal limits, the star charm was found to contain 51% total weight of lead. Two of the pendants also contain cadmium exceeding the recommended safe limits, the giraffe pendant contains more than 46% total weight of cadmium and the butterfly pendant contains 45% total weight cadmium. Neither Health Canada nor Frabels Inc. has received any reports of incidents or illnesses related to the use of this product. For more information on the risks and symptoms of lead exposure, visit Health Canada's: Effects of Lead on Human Health and Lead and Cadmium Hazard in Children's Jewellery .