Safety survey finds several hazardous toys

It's not all fun and toys this holiday season.

The 25th annual survey of toy safety released by the New York Public Interest Research Group Tuesday found seven perilous playthings, with five containing various chemicals that have been implicated in cancer, reproductive abnormalities and learning disabilities.

NYPIRG found that The Baby Toys Baby Doll and the Dora the Explorer Backpack both had high levels of phthalates - commonly used chemicals that have been linked to the early onset of puberty, lower sperm counts and reproductive defects.

Meanwhile, two toys had parts that posed choking risks, even though they met legal requirements: Lokmock, Baby's First Train made by Haba, had parts that exceeded the legal standard by only a centimeter and carried no choke hazard warning.

"It was brought to our attention by a D.C.-area mother who had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her 1-year-old when he choked on the red peg," said Megan Ahearn, NYPIRG consumer rights advocate.

NYPIRG's findings will be turned over to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has recalled 150 different toys as a result of the organization's toy surveys.