Moldy sippy cups have parents disgusted and angry

MONTREAL — A sippy cup is causing concerns for many families, and is gaining momentum because of a Facebook post.

A father in Montreal wondered why his son got sick and decided to open the "leak-proof" top of his sippy cup.

The top of the Tommee Tippee sippy cup was covered in a thick layer of mold.

Dad Simon O'kanada's friend Marie-Pier S. L'Hostie shared photos of his son's sippy cup on Facebook Thursday and expressed shock and disgust.

The Huffington Post reported that another friend, Penny Powell, shared L'Hostie's post and shared more photos of others with similar experiences.

"My friend Simon O'kanada wondered why his son was always sick. He broke the anti-spill top of his 'Tommee Tippee' bottle and discovered mold inside the mouthpiece," Powell wrote in a Facebook post. "It doesn't wash and can't be seen unless it is broken open. He called the company, and the lady on the phone laughed out out loud."

The post was shared over 93,000 times.

L'Hostie's post was shared over 45,000 times.

The French team for the children's cup company responded to complaints on Monday.

"We learned, as a result of posts, that some people were not satisfied with the result of the sippy valves used in our sippy cups," it wrote on Facebook. "We apologize for the inconvenience and we assure you that we are actively working on the subject."

Although the company included a diagram indicating how to clean the top, parents claimed that the top had to be broken to get to the middle.

In a more detailed statement to BuzzFeed News, Tommee Tippee said their products undergo testing by a panel of parents. It also indicated that the mold may be due to misuse of the product.

"When used with recommended liquids (cold, light fluids including water and non-pulp juices) and cleaned in line with instructions, there are no problems."

"Difficulties have arisen though when liquids that are not recommended for use in the cups have been used, like thick formula milk, pulpy juice and warm liquids. We also recommend that cups are not left for long periods before being cleaned," the statement said.

Cox Media Group