A MUM is warning other parents about the dangers of a beloved children's toy used for teething – after she discovered black MOULD growing inside the one she'd given to her son.

Child dentist Dana Chianese found the poisonous substance growing inside the Sophie the Giraffe toy after being alerted to it by an unpleasant smell.

The horrified mum, who lives in New Jersey, told Good Housekeeping that she regularly recommends the product to patients for their teething children but couldn't believe that mould had been growing in a toy that is designed to be chewed upon.

She told the magazine: "I decided to cut into Sophie out of curiosity and discovered a science experiment living inside. Smelly, ugly mould living in my infant's favourite chew toy!"

Like a dog's toy, it has an air hole in the bottom of the toy to let children squeeze it.

Created by French company Vulli, it was first brought to the market in 1961 and is made of 100 per cent latex.

Another mum Stephanie Oprea, last year posted similar images online of mould growing inside her child's Sophie the Giraffe toy.

Posting a review on Amazon she wrote: "Beware! If you have a drooly baby, moisture will get in the hole and you'll end up with mould! We've had ours for two years and the entire inside is coated with black mould!"

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Other users have also slammed the product on the online marketplace, with another parent showing what she found after she chopped off the legs of the toy to stop her daughter pushing them too far into her mouth.

The mum said: "I thought we'd be smart and cut the legs, so they weren't so long. Well, when we chopped the legs, it revealed a lot of mould growing inside! Needless to say, Sophie is now residing at her new home at the dump.

"Just a little heads up to other mums who have this toy."

A spokesman for Vulli told MailOnline that the cleaning instructions for the toy must be "carefully respected".

They added: "It’s important to know that Sophie la girafe [the toy's French name] is composed of 100 per cent natural rubber, so the cleaning instructions have to be carefully respected.

"As indicated on the packaging and in an explanatory leaflet inside the packaging, we recommend to clean the surface of Sophie la girafe with a damp cloth. It should not be immersed in the water nor rinsed off, to prevent water from getting inside, as she may become damaged.

"We thus would like to emphasise the fact that is it important, while cleaning the product, that no water gets inside the hole."

The company claimed it had not been made aware of the complaints but would be taking them "very seriously".

The toy has been a firm favourite with celebrities, with Miranda Kerr and Orlando Bloom's son Flynn owning one when he was younger. Other celebrity Sophie fans include Kate Hudson, Maggie Gyllenhaal Nicole Richie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams.

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