27/07/2026
A new investigation reveals that jewelry sold as sterling silver on Amazon and can contain toxic cadmium at thousands of times the legal safety limit.
A shocking investigation by The Sunday Times has exposed a major health hazard hiding in budget online marketplaces: inexpensive jewelry sold on Amazon and TikTok Shop containing dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals.
Independent laboratory testing conducted by the Birmingham Assay Office revealed that a ring marketed as '925 sterling silver'—which should contain at least 92.5 percent silver—was actually composed of 92.3 percent cadmium. This staggering concentration represents more than 9,000 times the legal threshold of 0.01 percent in the UK and European Union.
Similarly, charms purchased from a seller on TikTok Shop were found to contain 33 percent cadmium, or nearly 3,300 times the permitted limit, prompting both platforms to swiftly remove the flagged listings.
Cadmium is a highly toxic, carcinogenic heavy metal that accumulates in the human body over time, posing severe long-term risks to the kidneys, bones, and respiratory system. While brief contact with healthy skin is unlikely to cause acute poisoning, experts warn that prolonged exposure, worn jewelry on broken or pierced skin, or children accidentally swallowing or chewing on these cheap items present severe chemical risks. This discovery highlights a systemic safety loophole with third-party sellers on e-commerce giants, where consumers have virtually no way to verify if their purchases contain hazardous materials. Regulators advise shoppers to be extremely cautious of unusually cheap items, ambiguous material labels, and obscure manufacturing origins.
source: The Sunday Times. (2026). Jewelry made of carcinogen sold as silver on Amazon.
