Amazon, Walmart and Target stop selling certain water beads

Major retailers have stopped selling certain water beads after federal safety regulators warned that they pose serious safety risks.

Amazon, Walmart and Target have changed their policies regarding selling water beads, which are typically marketed as a sensory toy for kids. 

Target confirmed to FOX Business that the company will no longer sell water beads that are marketed to children under 13 years old both in-store and online.  

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“Given growing safety concerns, we will no longer sell water beads marketed to children,” a Target spokesperson told FOX Business.   

Amazon also updated its policy on water beads and will no longer sell the product if it is marketed to children, including as toys, art supplies or for sensory play. 

“We work hard to ensure the products offered in our store are safe, and we have teams dedicated to developing and updating our policies, evaluating listings, and continuously monitoring our store to prevent unsafe and noncompliant products from being listed,” an Amazon spokesperson told FOX Business.  

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Similarly, Walmart told Consumer Reports that it will ban the sale of water bead toys and crafts that are marketed to children under 9 years old. This applies both in-store and online. 

In September, Consumer Product Safety Commission Chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric announced that the product, if swallowed, can expand and “pose choking and intestinal obstruction hazards inside a small child’s body.” 

The commission said that this could cause “severe discomfort, vomiting, dehydration and a risk of death to the child.” 

The safety regulators previously heard from “numerous parents” whose children suffered “grievous injuries” or even died after ingesting the product. 

The CPSC did not disclose the number of reports they received regarding this product.