Well, this is frightening:

Health Canada has issued a warning and recall about balloon blowing kits sold at last month’s Canadian National Exhibition.

These toys typically consist of a solvent mixture in a tube and one or more plastic straws for blowing. Children form balloons or bubbles by dipping the short straw into the solvent and blowing through the straw.

The concern: Blowing through the straw exposes a child to inhaling the solvent vapours. If kids blow balloons for extended periods, they may experience early symptoms of central nervous system depression or dysfunction (!), including euphoria, hallucinations, dizziness, and difficulties with coordination of voluntary movements. Prolonged exposure can lead to more serious symptoms including muscular twitching, unconsciousness, and coma.

Or: Blow the bubbles, your kid gets stoned, then can twitch and pass out.

I never even knew such things existed, which makes sense considering they’ve been banned in Canada since before I was born. Even in the early 70s they knew these things were bad, which says a lot considering babies were transported sans carseats and often fell down stairs in walkers.

The kits were sold from Aug. 15-20 at three booths in the International Pavilion, in the Products of the Philippines area.

More details here.

If you haven’t seen this already, Maple Leaf Foods has recalled a TON of deli meat contaminated with nasty listeriosis.

One person has died, and 17 cases of listeriosis have been confirmed: 13 in Ontario, two in British Columbia and one each in Saskatchewan and Quebec. There are still 16 more suspected, but unconfirmed, cases of listeriosis also in Ontario.

The products that are part of the recall have been distributed to nursing homes, delis and restaurants across Canada, including McDonald’s and Mr. Sub.

Exposure to the listeria bacteria can lead to listeriosis, particularly in the elderly, the very young, pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, cramps and fever.

See a full list of the recalled meats and a detailed story from CTV here.

We rarely buy deli meat anymore because of the nitrates (and other goodies you can read about here), but occasionally buy preservative-free, cooked, fresh sliced meat from our local butcher. Ironically, because of running short on time, I picked up some processed turkey from the grocery store this week — luckily, it wasn’t from Maple Leaf.

In other news, dollar store ponies can attack your children with eyes that fall out! Not so plush now, are you, made in China Playful Pony imported by Canasia Toys & Gifts Inc. of Vaughan.

UPDATE, MON. AUG. 25: All meat has now been recalled from Maple Leaf’s Toronto Plant. Click here for more details, and here for a complete list of affected products.

The Consumer Product Safety people are recalling these cute animal head blankets by Lil Snugglers because…

…are you ready for the potentially deadly risk?…

…the satin edging can come off, potentially strangling a child.

*sigh*

I think the Safety Police have inhaled too many fumes from testing flammable lingerie.

We got us some potentially poisonous pears, people!

(I worked hard on that.)

President’s Choice and Beech Nut are recalling their respective toddler pear juices from concentrate, as they may be tainted with arsenic.

Get all the info here, or call Loblaws Customer Relations at 1-888-495-5111, or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735.

Two things strike me as unusual here…

First, why is one juice labeled as organic and one not? Is the PC juice really organic? Or are they just processed in the same plant?

Second, how does arsenic maybe get into toddler pear juice? Did some psycho worker just happen to sprinkle some in a giant vat? Is it used in production somewhere? Why was it even in the plant?

So many questions surround the poisonous pears.

I actually love the Cherokee brand, so this is upsetting. Apparently the sleeper buttons have too much lead. See details here.

The CBC has a great site of product recalls, one that gets updated so often — which is really disturbing — it’s hard to keep up. Visit the site to see the latest, including wooden blocks and train sets,  remote-controlled cars, and dollar store glue guns that shock users then catch fire.

(Note to self: Do not buy electric items from dollar store.)

And don’t forget about our extensive list of safety and support groups in Durham and beyond, found here.