Prosecutors in northern France have opened an investigation into involuntary injuries after an eight-year-old suffered second-degree burns when an anti-stress squishy toy burst in the child's face on 24 July in Saint-Omer. The blast left burns across the child's face and chest that are expected to result in more than three months of total work incapacity.
The child's mother filed a police complaint in Saint-Omer and said she had bought the "Cool Mix Supergel" product at a Smyths Toys store in nearby Arques. France's consumer-fraud agency, the DGCCRF, said it is running laboratory analyses and could order product withdrawals or recalls if the toy is found to be non-compliant.
Similar squishy toys have previously been recalled by British authorities over excessively high concentrations of benzene, a known carcinogen.