QUEZON CITY — The EcoWaste Coalition lauded the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for disseminating toy safety reminders well ahead of the toy gift-giving season, which typically peaks in December during the Christmas season.
On June 30, or several months before the Christmas shopping spree, the FDA released Advisory No. 2026-0705 highlighting the importance of musical toys to children’s development and providing tips on safe procurement and use.
“Supporting the FDA’s recent toy safety reminder, we urge consumers to remain vigilant. Although legal requirements mandate safe toys for children, dangerous products without market authorization still slip through,” said Aileen Lucero, national coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. “It is therefore very important for consumers to be guided and make careful choices to keep children safe.”
“Musical toys are designed to introduce children to sounds, rhythm, and music through simple and interactive play. Unlike musical instruments, musical toys are generally made from plastic or lightweight materials and are specifically designed to be safe, easy to use, and appropriate for children,” the FDA said. “These toys help stimulate creativity, improve cognitive and motor skills, and nurture a better appreciation for music at an early age.”
Inspired by the viral hit song “Hawak mo ang beat,” which translates to “you hold the beat” (or figuratively “you are in charge”), the FDA reminded the public to keep the B.E.A.T. in mind when buying musical and other toys:
B – Buy Smart. Purchase only from trusted brands or toy stores to help ensure product quality and safety.
E – Examine Parts. Regularly inspect toys for loose, damaged, or detachable small parts that may pose choking or injury hazards. Properly store toys after use.
A – Age-Appropriate. Choose toys appropriate for the child’s age, as seen in the product’s age grading
T – Tag Check. Always read and follow the full labels, instructions, and safety warnings before use.
While generally safe, some musical toys may pose safety hazards, the EcoWaste Coalition said.
Among the potential hazards to watch out for, the group said, are lead exposure from the lead paint used in some xylophone bars, internal burns from accessible button batteries in battery-powered musical toys, choking from the accidental ingestion of detached small components of maracas or tambourines, strangulation from toy musical instruments with long strings, and laceration from broken parts of musical toys made of brittle plastic.
In particular, the EcoWaste Coalition warned against unauthorized toy xylophones with metallic bars coated with paints containing lead above the legal limit of 90 parts per million (ppm). In 2024, for example, the orange bar of a toy xylophone was analyzed and found to contain 5,710 ppm of lead. Previous analyses of these musical toys detected lead up to 14,100 ppm.
The group also cautioned against the presence of toxic brominated flame-retardant chemicals in black plastic recycled from electronic waste used in some musical toys. In 2020, the group detected 13,300 ppm of bromine in the black plastic component of a toy guitar.
To learn more about toy safety, the EcoWaste Coalition encouraged the public to get familiar with and apply the various toy safety awareness materials developed by the FDA, available on the FDA website.
