A Co Tyrone mum has urged parents to inspect their baby's teething toys after she discovered what appears to be mould inside the popular toy used by her young daughter.
The Dungannon mum, who did not wish to be named made the discovery after noticing a funny smell from her daughter's 'Sophie la giraffe' teether.
After cutting the teething toy open to inspect it further, the 33-year-old was horrified to find what appears to be spots of mould inside.
She told Be: "My daughter loves her Sophie teether and uses it regularly and I always give it a wipe clean but one day I noticed a funny smell coming from it so I decided to cut it open.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the inside of it had spots of black mould, it really horrified me."
The mum-of-one said she couldn't believe a toy that has been specifically designed to help teething babies was susceptible to such harmful damage.
After contacting the French company to express her horror at the find, she was further shocked at the response which pointed out that the mould would only appear if the teether had come into contact with moisture.
She explained: "I emailed the company and sent them images of the inside and I couldn't believe when they said that would only happen if 'moisture had got trapped inside'. But it's an object specifically designed for teething babies so of course it is going to come into contact with moisture when a baby is chewing and slobbering on it regularly!'
"I explained to them that it had never been submerged in water and that we would only ever clean it with a damp cloth and always avoid the area with the squeak hole."
The company has now offered to inspect the teether further and has asked the mum to post the item back to them.
She added: "I am going to post the teether back to them so they can investigate. They offered to send a replacement but I don't want another one for the same thing to happen again. My daughter has used the teether for months and I don't know how long the mould has been there, it's very worrying.
"I just want to warn other parents out there as I know the Sophie teethers are very popular. It's just worth checking if you have one at home that mould hasn't developed inside. It scares me to think how ill it could have made my daughter if we hadn't of realised what was growing inside it."
A spokesperson for the company that makes the Sophie la Giraffe told Be : "I am aware of this customer and am awaiting the return of the product so we can investigate further with the manufacturer.
"As detailed clearly to the customer Sophie la girafe teether is designed to squeak when squeezed and to enable this a breather hole needs to part of the design, so clear care instructions are that the teether cannot be submerged in water or left in a steriliser, of course the teether can still be cleaned but this should be with a damp cloth. This is also outlined clearly on our website: Sophie the Giraffe® UK FAQ (sophielagirafe.co.uk)
"Without having received the item back I am unable to comment further on the condition or cause."
