Canada
United States
The Gap Between “Safe-Looking” and Actually Safe
Silicone teething toys are everywhere — in baby boutiques, on Amazon, bundled into registry checklists. Most of them look the same: soft, colourful, chewable. But the material category alone tells you very little about whether a specific product meets the safety standards that matter for Canadian infants.
In early 2026, a wave of silicone pull-string teething toy recalls made headlines across North America. The CPSC reported 32 choking incidents connected to one recalled product line alone — toys that were actively sold on Amazon as recently as late 2025. The silicone strings on those toys were smaller than permitted and could reach the back of a child’s throat, posing a risk of respiratory distress. These weren’t obscure products. They were widely purchased, visually appealing, and marketed directly at teething-age babies.
The lesson isn’t that silicone is dangerous. It’s that not all silicone products are built to the same standard, and the regulatory landscape for teethers is more layered than most parents realize — especially in Canada, where federal law operates independently of US rules.
How Canadian Law Governs Teethers: The CCPSA Framework
In Canada, teethers fall under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), which came into force in 2011 and replaced the former Hazardous Products Act. The CCPSA applies to consumer products intended for use in Canada, including products manufactured domestically or imported into the country for sale or distribution, and imposes a general requirement that consumer products do not pose any danger to human health or safety when used as intended.
Health Canada defines a child care article — the category that covers teethers — as “a product that is intended to facilitate the relaxation, sleep, hygiene, feeding, sucking or teething of a child under four years of age.” That definition matters because it determines which specific chemical and mechanical safety rules apply.
Under the Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17), children’s toys and related products manufactured, imported, advertised or sold in Canada are subject to the CCPSA and the Toys Regulations, which address a wide range of mechanical, flammability, toxicological, electrical, thermal and other hazards. For teethers specifically, the CCPSA also outright prohibits certain product types: teethers, pacifiers and baby bottle nipples that contain a filling that has in it a viable micro-organism are banned outright — not just regulated, but banned.
One area where Canadian parents should pay close attention is phthalates. These are plasticizing chemicals used to soften vinyl and certain plastics. Under the Phthalates Regulations (SOR/2016-188), children’s products cannot have over 1,000 ppm of some phthalates, including DEHP, DBP, BBP, DINP, DIDP, and DNOP. These regulations help ensure that children’s toys and child care articles imported, sold or advertised in Canada do not present a risk of phthalate exposure to young children. Food-grade silicone, by its nature, does not require phthalate plasticizers — which is one reason the material is so well-suited to infant products. But parents buying products that mix silicone with other components (clips, rings, fabric attachments) should verify that those parts are also tested and compliant.
It’s also worth noting that compliance with US toy and children’s product requirements (such as CPSIA or ASTM F963) is not a substitute for compliance with the Toys Regulations or other CCPSA regulations for children’s products. A product that clears US standards still needs to meet Canadian requirements to be legally sold here.
CPSIA and ASTM F963: Why US Standards Still Matter for Canadian Parents
Even though CPSIA compliance doesn’t automatically satisfy Canadian law, the two regulatory systems overlap substantially — and for Canadian parents shopping cross-border or buying from brands that operate in both markets, understanding US standards is still useful.
CPSIA (the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, enacted in 2008) made ASTM F963 a mandatory consumer product safety standard for children’s toys in the US. Under CPSIA, any product designed or intended primarily for children aged 12 and under must comply with specific safety rules covering chemical content, mechanical hazards, labeling, and traceability. For teethers specifically, CPSIA classifies them as child care articles — “designed or intended by the manufacturer for a child age 3 years old or younger to facilitate sleeping or feeding or to help the child in sucking or teething” — which subjects them to phthalate restrictions at concentrations no greater than 0.1% (1,000 ppm) in any accessible component.
ASTM F963 section 4.22 governs teethers and teething toys directly. Certain teethers and teething toys must comply with 16 C.F.R. part 1510, and toys with domed ends must meet additional performance requirements. These requirements cover things like dimensional minimums (to prevent small parts from reaching the back of a child’s throat), torque and tension resistance, and compression testing. Third-party testing and certification are required for toys designed or intended primarily for children 12 and under, and that testing must be done by a CPSC-accepted laboratory.
For parents, the practical takeaway is this: if a brand can demonstrate that its teething toys have been independently third-party tested against both CPSIA and CCPSA requirements, that’s a meaningful signal. It means someone other than the manufacturer has verified the claims on the label.
What “Food-Grade Silicone” Actually Means — and What It Doesn’t
The phrase “food-grade silicone” appears on nearly every teether sold today. It’s become so common that it risks losing meaning. So it’s worth being specific about what the designation actually requires.
Food-grade silicone is specifically made to be safe for food and mouth contact. It’s non-toxic and doesn’t release harmful substances, which is especially important for babies who chew for comfort. Unlike PVC or certain soft plastics, it doesn’t require phthalate plasticizers to achieve flexibility. It’s non-porous, heat-resistant, and doesn’t harbor bacteria the way softer, more porous materials can. High-quality, food-grade silicone can withstand high temperatures without melting or warping, which matters for parents who sterilize teethers in boiling water or a dishwasher.
But “food-grade” is not a single regulated certification — it’s a category of material standard. High-quality silicone toys should be manufactured using 100% food-grade or medical-grade silicone, not industrial or recycled silicone. Industrial-grade silicone may contain fillers or plasticizers that can migrate out under chewing, heat, or repeated use. The difference isn’t always visible to the naked eye.
So what should parents look for beyond the label? A few things: confirmation that the silicone is 100% food-grade (not just “silicone”), evidence of independent third-party testing, and clear documentation that the product is free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead, and cadmium. If a brand can’t point to any of those, that’s probably a gap worth noting.
One additional detail that tends to get overlooked: how colorants are applied. Some manufacturers print or coat colors onto the surface of silicone, which can chip or flake with repeated chewing. Better practice is to inject water-based, food-safe inks directly into the silicone during manufacturing, so the color is part of the material rather than applied on top.
What to Actually Check Before You Buy a Teething Set
Given the above, here’s a practical checklist for evaluating any silicone teething toy set — whether you’re buying it as a gift or adding it to your own registry.
Material documentation: Does the brand specify 100% food-grade silicone? Is there any third-party lab report or certification available? Brands that have done the testing tend to make that information easy to find.
Chemical safety: Confirm the product is free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead, and cadmium. This applies to every component of the set — not just the teether itself, but any clip, ring, or attachment included.
Mechanical safety: Check that the teether’s size and shape are appropriate for the intended age. Toys intended for children under 3 years old shall not contain detachable small parts under Canadian regulations. Any teether with long, flexible appendages — strings, tentacles, pull-through pieces — warrants extra scrutiny given the recent recall pattern for that design type.
Colorant method: Injected food-safe inks are safer than surface-applied coatings for products that will be chewed repeatedly.
Recall history: Health Canada maintains a searchable database of product recalls at recalls-rappels.canada.ca. It takes about 30 seconds to check a brand name before purchasing. The CPSC database covers US recalls, many of which apply to Canadian markets as well.
Certifications: Look for B Corp certification, OEKO-TEX, ISO 9001/14001, or similar third-party credentials that indicate a brand’s broader commitment to safety and quality management — not just for one product, but across their manufacturing process.
Loulou Lollipop’s silicone teething sets are made from 100% food-grade silicone and are free of BPA, PVC, phthalates, lead, and cadmium — with independent third-party testing against both US CPSC/CPSIA and Canadian safety requirements. The brand holds B Corp certification, OEKO-TEX 100, ISO 14001, and ISO 9001, and uses water-based food-safe inks injected directly into the silicone rather than applied on top. For Canadian parents who want a set that checks every box on the list above, their teething collections are a well-documented starting point.
The broader point stands regardless of brand: safety in this category is verifiable. Standards exist, third-party testing exists, and recall databases exist. The parents who take ten minutes to check these things before buying are making a meaningfully different decision than those who go by packaging alone.