AUSTIN, Texas — On one of the biggest holiday shopping weeks, the Texas Public Interest Research Group has released its 2022 "Trouble in Toyland" report.
This year, the group was able to purchase 30 different types of recalled toys from online sellers, like Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
Some of the toys are stuffed animals, action figures, activity balls for infants, musical toys, bath toys and riding toys for toddlers. Many of these items posed choking hazards.
U.S. Congressman Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) is now pushing for new legislation to combat online and counterfeit toy sales.
On Monday, he demonstrated one way parents can tell if a toy is safe or not.
"The easiest way to guard against some of these is with a simple cylinder from a toilet tissue roll. If the piece will fall through the cylinder, like all these little army pieces, they do pose a problem," said Doggett.
Over the past few years, 200,000 people ended up in emergency rooms because of unsafe toys. Young children, those ages 4 and under, make up about 40% of those cases.
To read the full report, click here.