Most supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City have stopped selling Chinese drinking cups found tainted with lead which could be toxic to children after they received warnings from authorities.
The drinking glasses printed with cartoon characters were found to be contaminated with lead that is thousands of times higher than safety limits.
Moreover, the cups imported from China also contain other toxic substances that may be harmful to the development of intelligence in children, said the Goods Quality Control Department that carried out the tests.
Multicolored glasses depicting cartoon characters are popular among children and were sold for VND45,000-70,000 (US$2.25-3.5) each.
Scientists have long proved that heavy metals like lead or catmi can cause damage to the brain, kidney and bone, and that at certain high levels, they can cause cancer.
In November 2010, US scientists have found excessive lead in glasses with images of cartoon characters bearing different famous brands.
A recent scientific research conducted by ToyTestingLab, a US-based laboratory, shows that lead content in such glasses sold in the US was 1,000 times higher than the federal limit.
They also contained some heavy metals with contents being 16-30% higher than the levels that medical experts said could be harmful to children’s intelligence development. Most of the glasses were made in China, according to the research.
