Playware Plays Well With Others

We received a great item for review recently, the Playful Trayful Sibling Set. It includes two sturdy cafeteria-style trays with compartments in the shape of a head– one boy (green) and one girl (blue). The idea is to not only allow your fussy eaters to play with their food, but to whole-heartedly encourage it! Brilliant.



Jasper is still a bit young to understand how cool this concept is, but Roo got a big kick out of it. Here's her first attempt at culinary genius:



Yes, my kid did have cheesy scrambled eggs, white rice and ketchup as the bulk of her meal. Hey, her forebears are from Hawaii, okay? I'm surprised there's no Spam on the plate… There is a carrot nose and a half-pea/half-raisin hairbow. We're working on variety. At least there isn't a nugget in sight.



Anyway, the Playful Trayful was a hit. I thought it was such a great idea, I was planning to get them for Roo's cousins' upcoming birthdays. Unfortunately, as I was re-checking the links for this review, I noticed the following message on Playware Products' website:

NOTICE TO OUR CUSTOMERS: Playful Trayful is made of polycarbonate, a plastic FDA approved for food use. However, because of recent health concerns about the material, we are suspending sales until we have replaced our inventory with trays made of another material, or until we have further assurance the material is truly safe. We are sorry for any inconvenience.

I contacted the PR rep who first told me about Playful Trayfuls and she told me the owners are just devastated. They made every effort to test their product before it went to market and the trays tested negative for lead and phtalates and were deemed microwave safe. But just four days after their initial retail shipment arrived, the New York Times announced that Canada would most likely be banning plastics containing BPA and that the US had serious doubts about its safety.

It should be noted that the government still maintains the safety of polycarbonates, but the two dads behind Playware Products have decided to err on the side of caution and wait to launch the Playful Trayful when they can be manufactured with plastics that they feel comfortable about serving kids on. Regrettably, their life savings are all tied up in research and development for the Playful Trayful, so they don't know when the product will be reintroduced to the market.



If you have deep pockets or know someone who is looking for a smart investment, please contact them… I think it would definitely be worthwhile. Especially if the new improved non-BPA plastic is available in pink or purple…

***For more information on BPA and what baby/kid products contain it, check out this Z Recommends BPA Resource Round-up.