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Fisher-Price Recalls Nearly 1 Million Toys Due to Excessive Lead Paint
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
WASHINGTON - Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys -
including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters - because
their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.
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.
The recall is the first for Fisher-Price Inc. and parent company Mattel Inc.
involving lead paint. It is the largest for Mattel since 1998 when
Fisher-Price had to yank about 10 million Power Wheels from toy stores.
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.
Fisher-Price and the commission issued statements saying parents should keep
suspect toys away from children and contact the company.
The commission works with companies to issue recalls when it finds consumer
goods that can be harmful. Under current regulations, children's products
found to have more than .06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to
a recall.
Allmark says the recall was "fast-tracked," which allowed the company to
quarantine two-thirds of the toys before they even made it to store shelves.
In negotiating details of the recall, Fisher-Price and the government agreed
to withhold details from the public until Thursday to give stores time to
get suspect toys off shelves and Fisher-Price time to get its recall hot
line up and running.
Allmark said the recall was troubling because Fisher-Price has had a
long-standing relationship with the Chinese vendor, which had applied
decorative paint to the toys. Allmark said the company would use this recall
as an opportunity to put even better systems in place to monitor vendors
whose conduct does not meet Mattel's standards.
He added: "We are still concluding the investigation, how it happened. ...
But there will be a dramatic investigation on how this happened. We will
learn from this."
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.
"Anytime a company brings a banned hazardous product into the U.S.
marketplace, especially one intended for children, it is unacceptable," said
Nancy Nord, acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"Ensuring that Chinese-made toys are safe for U.S. consumers is one of my
highest priorities and is the subject of vital talks currently in place
between CPSC and the Chinese government."
Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industries Association, praised
Mattel's quick response to the problem, and suggested Mattel will use this
setback as a lesson for not only the company but for the entire industry.
However, he expressed concern about how the recall and other toy recalls
will play out in consumers' minds in advance of the holiday season.
"We are worried about the public feeling," said Keithley, adding he observed
how toy companies are embracing strict controls during a recent toy safety
seminar in China. "We have thought all along that (consumers) can be
confident in the products," he said. "But if companies like Mattel have
this, then you have to ask how did this happen?"
Owners of a recalled toy can exchange it for a voucher for another product
of the same value. To see pictures of the recalled toys, visit
http://www.service.mattel.com. For more information, call Mattel's recall
hot line at 800-916-4498.
Fisher-Price Recalls Nearly 1 Million Toys Due to Excessive Lead Paint
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
WASHINGTON - Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys -
including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters - because
their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.
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.
The recall is the first for Fisher-Price Inc. and parent company Mattel Inc.
involving lead paint. It is the largest for Mattel since 1998 when
Fisher-Price had to yank about 10 million Power Wheels from toy stores.
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.
Fisher-Price and the commission issued statements saying parents should keep
suspect toys away from children and contact the company.
The commission works with companies to issue recalls when it finds consumer
goods that can be harmful. Under current regulations, children's products
found to have more than .06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to
a recall.
Allmark says the recall was "fast-tracked," which allowed the company to
quarantine two-thirds of the toys before they even made it to store shelves.
In negotiating details of the recall, Fisher-Price and the government agreed
to withhold details from the public until Thursday to give stores time to
get suspect toys off shelves and Fisher-Price time to get its recall hot
line up and running.
Allmark said the recall was troubling because Fisher-Price has had a
long-standing relationship with the Chinese vendor, which had applied
decorative paint to the toys. Allmark said the company would use this recall
as an opportunity to put even better systems in place to monitor vendors
whose conduct does not meet Mattel's standards.
He added: "We are still concluding the investigation, how it happened. ...
But there will be a dramatic investigation on how this happened. We will
learn from this."
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.
"Anytime a company brings a banned hazardous product into the U.S.
marketplace, especially one intended for children, it is unacceptable," said
Nancy Nord, acting chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
"Ensuring that Chinese-made toys are safe for U.S. consumers is one of my
highest priorities and is the subject of vital talks currently in place
between CPSC and the Chinese government."
Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industries Association, praised
Mattel's quick response to the problem, and suggested Mattel will use this
setback as a lesson for not only the company but for the entire industry.
However, he expressed concern about how the recall and other toy recalls
will play out in consumers' minds in advance of the holiday season.
"We are worried about the public feeling," said Keithley, adding he observed
how toy companies are embracing strict controls during a recent toy safety
seminar in China. "We have thought all along that (consumers) can be
confident in the products," he said. "But if companies like Mattel have
this, then you have to ask how did this happen?"
Owners of a recalled toy can exchange it for a voucher for another product
of the same value. To see pictures of the recalled toys, visit
http://www.service.mattel.com. For more information, call Mattel's recall
hot line at 800-916-4498.
