The sand inside is the problem: two Primark Halloween gonks recalled today
What happened
On Tuesday 6 October 2026, the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) published a product recall notice for two Halloween decorations sold by Primark. The notice reference is 2610-0004. The products are "gonks" - the small, soft, bean-filled figures with pointed hats that people stand on a doorstep or a shelf. One wears a pumpkin hat. The other wears a witch hat and has grey hair. OPSS lists them with model numbers 991174794 and 991179148, and barcodes 212047125 and 212080261. They were made in China. The problem is not the fabric or the hat. It is the sand sealed inside, which is what gives the figures their weight. OPSS says that sand may be contaminated with asbestos. The notice puts it plainly: "Asbestos is a banned substance because it poses a risk to health even at low levels of exposure." Primark has taken the decorations off sale and is recalling the ones already in people's homes. You can take yours back to any Primark store for a full refund, and you do not need a receipt. The recall was notified by local authority Trading Standards and issued under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005.
Why this matters
The timing is the first reason. These are seasonal decorations, bought in the run-up to Halloween at the end of this month. They are in hallways and on doorsteps right now. They get moved, picked up, squeezed and carried about by children - which is exactly the kind of handling a recall notice worries about. The second reason is what asbestos is. It is a group of natural minerals made of very fine fibres. You cannot see them or smell them. If they get into the air and someone breathes them in, they can stay in the lungs for decades and cause serious illness long afterwards, including scarring of the lung and a cancer called mesothelioma. Asbestos has been banned in the UK since 1999. That is why the official wording leaves no wriggle room. The government's own guidance on asbestos in consumer products states that there is "no safe level of asbestos in consumer products". But the same guidance makes a distinction that is worth holding on to. Asbestos that is sealed and bound inside something is much less of a risk than loose fibres floating in the air where they can be breathed in. A sachet of sand stitched inside a soft toy is not the same thing as a cloud of dust. So this is a notice to act on calmly, not a reason to panic about a decoration that has been sitting on a shelf.
What the evidence actually says
This is not a one-off. It is the latest step in a pattern that UK regulators have been chasing all year. By late April 2026, more than 30 toys had been recalled in the UK since the start of the year after being found to contain asbestos. The list of retailers involved had already taken in Tesco, Primark, Matalan, Smyths Toys, The Entertainer, Aldi, Argos, Asda and Marks & Spencer. The common thread in nearly all of them is sand. The sand used as a filler - in sand art kits, stretchy toys and weighted figures like these gonks - is thought to come from mines in China where asbestos fibres occur naturally in the ground, and where labelling rules are less strict than ours. The reaction from officials has been blunt. The minister Kate Dearden said: "It is staggering toys are being sold with asbestos, and I know how concerning this will be for parents." Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, said: "The Office for Product Safety and Standards needs to take action and ensure proper checks are being carried out to keep dangerous products off the shelves." Laurie Kazan-Allen, of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat, made a sharper point about how these products are being found: "The UK recalls since then are a result of individual tests carried out by manufacturers and sellers and not of testing by the UK authorities." That is worth understanding. Many of these recalls have come about because a company tested its own stock and found a problem, then reported it. Some firms have changed their manufacturing as a result. David Mordecai, chief executive of One For Fun, whose products were among those recalled, said: "We take product safety extremely seriously... we have discontinued the use of sand as a filler in all current and future products." Now the honest part - what the evidence does not say. Nobody has published evidence that a particular person has become ill from one of these toys. Asbestos-related illness comes from breathing fibres in, usually repeatedly, and it typically shows up decades later. A sealed bag of sand inside a stitched decoration is a low-exposure situation. Regulators act at this level for two reasons: the substance is banned outright in this country, and there is no amount of it they are willing to describe as safe. That is a different thing from saying your gonk has made someone ill. Both things can be true at once.
Qurexa perspective
Our drivers are at front doors across Lincolnshire every day, and at this time of year that means doorsteps with autumn and Halloween decorations on them. We are not a safety regulator and we cannot check anyone's decorations. What we can do is pass the official notice on quickly and in plain words. There is one group we think about particularly. A lot of the households we deliver prescriptions to are living with long-term lung conditions - COPD, asthma, or home oxygen. If anyone has reason to be careful about dust of any kind, it is them. If one of these decorations is in that house, it is worth dealing with today rather than at the end of the month. If you are the person who does the shopping or the collecting for a relative or neighbour, you may well be the one who spots it first. A quick look at the doorstep is not a big ask.
Practical advice
If you think you have one of these decorations: 1. Stop using it now. Keep it away from children and pets. 2. If it is undamaged and no sand is escaping, put it in a heavy-duty plastic bag, tape the bag closed twice, label it clearly, and store it somewhere safe. 3. If it is torn or the filling can get out, put on gloves and a face mask first. Clean the area with wet cloths. Do not dry-brush it and do not hoover it, because that is what puts dust into the air. Double-bag the decoration and the cloths together. 4. Take it back to your nearest Primark store for a full refund. You do not need a receipt. 5. If you cannot get to a store, ring your local council and ask for their advice on disposing of asbestos safely. Do not put it in your ordinary household bin. 6. Before you buy any other sand-filled toy or decoration this Halloween or Christmas, have a quick look at the OPSS product recall page on GOV.UK. It is free, it is searchable, and it is updated as new recalls come in. And if the decoration has already been in your house for a few weeks, do not spend the evening worrying. Bag it, take it back, and let the refund be the end of it.
What to know
The short version: - OPSS recalled two Primark Halloween gonks on 6 October 2026 under reference 2610-0004, because the sand inside may contain asbestos. - Model numbers are 991174794 and 991179148; barcodes are 212047125 and 212080261. - Stop using them, keep them from children, bag them safely, and return them to any Primark store for a full refund with no receipt needed. - This is part of a wider problem: more than 30 toys had been recalled in the UK for asbestos by late April 2026, nearly all traced to contaminated sand used as a filler. - Official guidance says there is no safe level of asbestos in consumer products, but also that sealed, bound asbestos is far less risky than loose airborne fibres. Act promptly; there is no need to panic. - There is no published evidence of anyone being made ill by one of these items. Sources: Office for Product Safety and Standards (GOV.UK), "Product recall: Primark Halloween Gonks (2610-0004)", 6 October 2026, https://www.gov.uk/product-safety-alerts-reports-recalls/product-recall-primark-halloween-gonks-2610-0004 | Office for Product Safety and Standards (GOV.UK), "Asbestos in consumer products", last updated 20 July 2026, https://www.gov.uk/guidance/asbestos-in-consumer-products | PA Media via The Irish News, "More than 30 toys recalled for asbestos since start of year", 27 April 2026, https://www.irishnews.com/news/uk/more-than-30-toys-recalled-for-asbestos-since-start-of-year-37PPG4I7AVLHTDMGO5XZQBOS2I/ | PA News Agency via Irvine Times, "Primark recalls two Halloween gonks over asbestos fears", published October 2026 (no on-page date shown), https://www.irvinetimes.com/news/national/26611860.primark-recalls-two-halloween-gonks-asbestos-fears/ This article is for general information and does not replace advice from a doctor, pharmacist or other qualified healthcare professional. If you are worried about a possible asbestos exposure, speak to your GP. For advice on disposing of an affected product, contact your local council.
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