A New Zealand mum has warned about the unsuspecting dangers of plastic foodware,after a plastic sipping cup shattered and cut her two-year-old boy's face in several places.
On Thursday, mum Emmah Peter was horrified after her son tripped on carpet and fell forward, while holding a Kmart plastic sippy cup filled with milk.
"My two-year-old tripped while drinking his milk and this cup smashed into shards upon impact with his little face, every mark on his face is from this incident," Peter wrote on Facebook.
The polypropylene cup shattered and lacerated the boy's entire face, but it luckily avoided his eyes.
"Please note how close several of the marks are to his eye, as well as his nose, lip and cheek and forehead," she said.
The photos of the horrendous ordeal were shared on several social media groups.
Peter said it's partly her fault for letting her son walk around sipping his drink, but didn't realise the cups could shatter so easily.
"But I just wanted to make everyone aware, this could have gone so bad," she said.
"This pack of reusable cups with hard spout lids is perfect for your little one who is learning to drink on their own," the Kmart product listing reads.
A Kmart New Zealand spokesperson told Stuff they take incidents like this “very seriously”.
They said despite the product complying with all safety standards, Kmart was now working with Peters to carry out a full review.
The polypropylene cups are sold as an $8 six-pack, and are marketed for children older than six months as microwave safe, dishwasher safe, BPA-free, and reusable.
Polypropylene is more commonly known as plastic type number 5, and is used in 2L ice cream containers, yoghurt tubs, medical devices like syringes, and plastic cutlery - among hundreds of other products.
Aotearoa-based company Supply Services said polypropylene is useful due to its rigidity, surface hardness, heat retention, and its resistance to stress cracking.
