Friday, August 3, 2007
A couple of days old already, but in keeping with my keeping an eye on the problem of Chinese-made products: Fisher-Price recalls 1M toys
The worldwide recall being announced Thursday involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August. It is the latest in a wave of recalls that has heightened global concern about the safety of Chinese-made products.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price, said the problem was detected by an internal probe and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall is particularly alarming since Mattel, known for its strict quality controls, is considered a role model in the toy industry for how it operates in China...
... The recall follows another high-profile move from toy maker RC2 Corp., which in June voluntarily recalled 1.5 million wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line.
The company said that the surface paint on certain toys and parts made in China between January 2005 and April 2006 contain lead, affecting 26 components and 23 retailers...
I can't believe the comments I just heard from the consumer advisor re toy recall -- that parents (I'm a grandparent who purchased several of the items on the recall list) should be aware of what they're buying. The items I bought from Fisher-Price contain the statement "conforms to the safety requirements of ASTM F963". Although I admit I don't know what that standard is, I felt confident that the company was selling (and checking for problems) safe products. By the way, the "vouchers" that the company is offering does not fully compensate me for my purchases.
China just seems to be in a slump lately with their products. They have been recieving so much negative publicity with both the Fisher-Price and Mattel brand toys being recalled. And now Wal-Mart has recalled two Chinese brands of dog treats because scientists found traces of melamine, which was the chemical agent that led to the massive pet food recall last March. Is this just a coincidence or is China up to something?