Cardiff’s Trading Standards has received an alert regarding the sale of Jequirity bean bracelets that have been on sale at Eden Project in Cornwall and another 36 retailers across the UK.
The red and black bracelets are made from the Jequirity bean, a deadly seed of the plant abrus precatorious, and contain the toxin abrin, a controlled substance under the Terrorism Act.
Abrin is chemically similar to Ricin, a chemical warfare agent. If swallowed, doses of just 3 micrograms can kill.
Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, Councillor Judith Woodman, is urging people who have bought the bracelets to bag them and then wash their hands and avoid touching their eyes. She said: “It’s important that these bracelets are returned to the manufacturer as soon as possible. All the retail outlets supplied are outside Wales, but it is possible that consumers from the Cardiff area may have purchased an affected bracelet from one of the outlets when on holiday.”
It’s believed that the popular visitor attraction, the Eden Project, in Cornwall sold more than 2,800 bracelets over the course of a year.
