Fisher-Price to recall almost a million toys worldwide due to lead in paint

WASHINGTON (CP) - Toy-maker Fisher-Price has issued a worldwide recall for as many as 83 types of toys - including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters - because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead. The recall being announced Thursday involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor. 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.

A statement released late Wednesday by the Canadian subsidiary of Mattel/Fisher Price lists 20 different toys under the recall.

Individual products and sets were sold at mass merchants and toy stores across Canada from May through August 2007.

The company said the toys may have some paints that could contain excess levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects. There have been no incidents reported in either the United States or Canada.

Mattel says the safety risk is considered low, and licking or touching an affected toy will not cause a problem. But if there is evidence the child has chewed the paint off the toy, it is recommended that parents speak with their pediatrician.

Parents are advised to should immediately take the toys away from children and contact Fisher-Price to arrange for return of the product and arrange for a replacement toy.

For additional information, contact Fisher-Price at at 1-800-916-4498 anytime, or visit the firm's Web site at www.service.mattel.com

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 U.S. 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 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 per cent 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 sought 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. However, some news organizations prematurely posted an embargoed version of the story online.

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.

"Any time 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.

© The Canadian Press, 2007