Regarding the items shown in the photo below:
- Fisher Price Family Play Farm Barn: Non-Detect” for Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg) & Arsenic (As) when tested with an XRF instrument. All components tested.
- Fisher Price Green & White Toy Car: Also ND for Pb, Cd, Hg & As for all components.
- Fisher Price Little People, red-haired girl: Her painted face was approximately 240 ppm lead (Pb) when tested with an XRF instrument.
Learn more about XRF testing here.
With these vintage Fisher Price toys a fully lead-free structure is the exception (when it comes to lead) not the rule. Most vintage Fisher Price toys have at least one component that is high in lead!
Here is another post with a test for a similar merry-go-round from the school house set (shown in the background here in this photo.)
Click here for test results for the vintage Corelle “Butterfly” pattern bowls also shown on the edge of this photo!
The amount of lead that is considered safe in a new/modern item intended for children is “below 100 ppm” in the substrate and “below 90 ppm” in the paint or coating.
TIP: Avoid all vintage toys! (sorry). As a consumer (and without appropriate testing instrumentation) you just can’t know which items are high lead and which items are not.
Here’s a link to a new/modern #LeadFree version of this product on Amazon!*
For more #SaferChoices for your family, click here.
To make a contribution in support of my independent consumer goods testing and lead poisoning prevention advocacy work, click here. Thank you!
As always, please let me know if you have any questions!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking one of these links I will receive a small percentage of what you spend, at no extra cost to you! Thank you!
Oh wow! My mother in law (who we live with) purchased this exact toy plus many other fisher price vintage toys at auction this year and last year for the grandkids…but then I came across your website after suspecting that they might not be safe for kids since, I mean, so many vintage things are unsafe whether in material or design. Turns out I was right… We have nearly all of the fisher price little people you have featured on your blog, plus the merry go round, plus others, plus even more vintage toys of other brands that I am highly suspicious of… We only moved in with them a month ago so I am so thankful I have found out about this whole lead thing now and not later!! My little girls have been putting those fisher price little people in their mouths!!
I showed my husband this information and we put away all the fisher price toys. Once my in-laws get back from their vacation we plan to talk with them and ask that they not purchase any more vintage toys and that we either toss the toys they already have purchased or put them into storage. I imagine they will be really bummed and possibly upset because they tie a lot of sentimental value into items and have a hard time letting go of things… They even have the vintage pyrex mixing bowls and little glass storage containers that contain lead… I don’t even know if I have the courage to bring that up!!
But ultimately the safety of my children takes top priority, even if it means stepping on someone else’s toes unintentionally like this situation we are currently in. The lesson for me going forward is this: it’s best to stay away from vintage stuff! Either that or just be extremely careful before buying anything vintage!
Thank you so much for your advocacy and for making people like me aware of this problem so I can keep my kids safe!
Thank you. This is a good article to share (if the situation warrants it): https://tamararubin.com/2015/02/fine/
When you said barn set on the Fisher Price did you mean all the animals and inside components that came with the barn too? Also on the yellow bus?
Thank you.
No – just the items pictured with the results shared in any of my posts.
“Non-detect” on the barn… Does that mean the barn happens to be in the clear? Safe?
This one does – but as I noted in my recent Instagram post – some that look the same are toxicant free and others test positive for heavy metals – there are different batches of production that look exactly the same with different heavy metals profiles unfortunately. So while this particular barn I tested was free of toxicants, another that looks exactly the same may not be.
Hi Tamara, Have you ever tested the vintage Little People house from the same era as this barn, with the yellow roof/gables and bright blue exterior, and attached little garage? Judging from the high lead in the Yellow colors, I wonder if we should be suspect? So sad to discover this as I held on to them for years… Thank you!
I don’t believe I have tested the house yet. I have recently posted a bunch of the components of the house that are lead-free, but I don’t know for sure what year they are from. You can check out the “Vintage Fisher Price” category of items on my blog by clicking this link (I also will be posting more shortly, there are currently five pages of posts in this category): https://tamararubin.com/category/vintage-fisher-price/
What about modern fisher price little people things like the bus and people?
I also created a category for the vintage fisher price home components: https://tamararubin.com/category/vintage-fisher-price-home/
Tamara – thank you for creating this new category of home components! Great to get the info. Question for you: if I shipped you the actual house with a return shipping label at my expense, would you be interested in testing it for your blog? I am struggling with consigning it to the trash can … and it would be so great to know if it’s safe! Just a thought. I also have all the components and animals…. I’m a health writer so this is all in my area of concern! Thanks so much!
Can you e-mail me a photo? TamaraRubin@mac.com (of the whole set if possible)
Have you ever tested the animals from this set, like the horse pictured?
I have the same question. The barn set includes a plastic horse, cow, pig, sheep, dog, rooster, tractor, farmer, white fences, etc. Thank you.
Tamara I have the blue Fisher Price table and 2 chairs also a art stand to paint on one side and desk with red chair on the other side. To me these are not considered Toya. What is your opinion about these items being toxic.