Toymaker Fisher Price is to recall almost one million Chinese-made toys over fears that their paint contains too much lead.
An internal probe found the Chinese manufacturer had used a non-approved paint pigment, violating its safety standards, the company said.

The recall affects 83 types of toy that have been on sale in the US since May.

It is the latest in a series of safety scares involving goods - food, drugs and other products - made in China.

Mattel Inc, which owns Fisher Price, said that the recall affected a total of 967,000 toys, including characters popular with young children such as Sesame Street's Big Bird and Elmo.

The company said that it was removing the products from shops and would intercept incoming shipments.

"We are still concluding the investigation, how it happened," Fisher Price's general manager, David Allmark, told the Associated Press news agency.

"But there will be a dramatic investigation on how this happened. We will learn from this," he said.

Lead is toxic and can pose a health risk to young children if ingested.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission urged parents to remove the affected toys from their children and contact Fisher Price.

Tainted products


 CHINESE PRODUCT SCARES
Pet food - tainted with chemical melamine
Toothpaste - tainted with chemical diethylene glycol and bacteria
Farmed fish - traces of banned drugs and pesticides found
Tyres - fault may cause blow-outs
Toys - contain lead or pose choking hazard
Children's jewellery - contains lead
Ceramic heaters - pose fire safety risk
Source: FDA and US Consumer Product Safety Commission
 

In recent months there have been a series of scares in the US involving products such as fish, seafood, toothpaste and tyres from China.

In June, toymaker RC2 recalled 1.5 million Chinese-made toy trains after they were found to be coated in paint containing lead.

Earlier this month, US President George W Bush set up a panel to look at the safety of food and other products imported into the US.

The White House denied the move was aimed specifically at China, saying it is important to check all imports.

Beijing has accused foreign media of exaggerating problems with Chinese products, but has admitted that safety standards need to improve.

In recent weeks, it has taken steps to show it is taking the issue of quality control seriously.

Earlier this month it closed down three companies and arrested several people involved in food and drug scandals that have caused alarm both at home and abroad.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/6927156.stm

Published: 2007/08/02 03:29:26 GMT

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