Another toy recall...

hooroo · Nov 10, 2007

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119445657913685394.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

U.S. Orders New China Toy Recall
Aqua Dots Are Pulled

More than four million Chinese-made toys sold in the U.S. as Aqua Dots are being recalled after reports surfaced that children swallowed beads containing a chemical found to mimic the effects of the so-called date-rape drug.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it has received two reports of children swallowing Aqua Dots and slipping into comas. Both children are now fine, the commission said. At least three children have been hospitalized in Australia, where the product is called Bindeez, after ingesting beads from the toy.

The incident deals a blow to the toy industry just as the Christmas shopping season is getting under way. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. listed the product as one of its "Top 12 Toys of Christmas." Wal-Mart has instituted an "electronic stop" at its cash registers to prevent further Aqua Dots sales and directed employees to remove the toys from its shelves, according to a spokeswoman. Toys "R" Us said it has pulled the toy in the U.S., and the toy was removed from other major Web sites and stores, including Amazon.com and Target.

The recall highlights a common practice in Chinese factories: cutting costs by substituting ingredients. The toy's manufacturer, Moose Enterprise, of Melbourne, Australia, yesterday said the problem had been traced to a Chinese factory it contracted that substituted a toxic chemical for a safe glue during manufacturing.

Moose declined to name the manufacturer but said the beads contained an adhesive solvent called "1,4 butylene glycol," which can simulate the so-called date-rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate when ingested, causing seizures, coma or death. The toy hasn't been linked to any deaths.

The 4.2 million recalled toys in the U.S. were sold at mass merchandisers nationally from April through November. In North America, the toy is distributed by Spin Master Ltd. Earlier yesterday, Spin Master had requested retailers stop selling the toy. Spin Master said that "out of an abundance of caution" it has stopped shipping the item. The company has issued at least three other recalls of toys made in China, according to notices posted on its Web site.

Aqua Dots sets, which were expected to be hot sellers this holiday season, are arts-and-crafts toys that feature small beads that stick together when they get wet.

The CPSC said a 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads and became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a coma. A second child also vomited, slipped into a coma and was hospitalized for five days.

Several recent recalls of Chinese goods have involved product substitutions, including toothpaste that contained diethylene glycol, an antifreeze ingredient. In July, the Chinese government said it had closed 180 food manufacturers found to have used industrial chemicals and additives in food products, including formaldehyde and the carcinogen malachite green.

China's General Administration of Quality, Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine wasn't available to comment.

Australia's New South Wales state minister for fair trading, Linda Burney, ordered the toys removed from stores there Tuesday after a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were admitted to a Sydney hospital after swallowing large quantities of the beads. A 19-month-old from Queensland also was receiving medical attention after eating the beads, the state's chief health officer, Jeannette Young, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The New Zealand Herald reported yesterday that two children in Auckland had been hospitalized recently after ingesting the beads, and quoted a New Zealand Ministry of Consumer Affairs spokesman saying the importer of Bindeez had agreed to stop supplying them.

Moose Enterprise said yesterday that samples of toys are being tested in markets around the world to see if the problems affect shipments outside of Australia but that the results may not be available until tomorrow. At least one million versions of the toy had been shipped to Australia, but world-wide figures weren't available.

Moose said that when the toys return to the market, it will add Bitrex to the beads, a foul-tasting ingredient aimed at discouraging children from eating multiple beads.

Kent Kedl, executive director of the Shanghai-based consulting firm Technomic Asia, which advises U.S. companies in China, said product substitution is a common problem when dealing with Chinese factories. He cites problems including companies that substitute low-quality screws or fasteners.

"It could be because the Chinese company doesn't know any better, or may be trying to cut corners and use cheaper product," he said.

Bindeez's London-based distributor, Character Group PLC, said it was notified Monday by Moose about the problems with Bindeez and decided to remove the toy from U.K. shelves as a precaution. The company is awaiting product-testing results from a toxicologist.

Character Group Chairman Richard King said the company does its own testing of toys that goes beyond the testing done by Moose. He said the company had heard of five reports of children who had ingested the product but hadn't been seriously harmed.
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thumbs · Nov 10, 2007

It doesn't matter. The ACLU and other politically correct organizations are eliminating Christmas anyway.

Don't get me wrong. Dangerous toys need to be kept from the marketplace. But then, again, there will be no reason for them. Tots and children have bigger, more important issues to occupy their time -- like sex, drugs and more space in the crib.

KingCheetah · Nov 10, 2007

thumbs said:

It doesn't matter. The ACLU and other politically correct organizations are eliminating Christmas anyway.

Don't get me wrong. Dangerous toys need to be kept from the marketplace. But then, again, there will be no reason for them. Tots and children have bigger, more important issues to occupy their time -- like sex, drugs and more space in the crib.
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Lol.

thumbs · Nov 10, 2007

KingCheetah said:

Lol.
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Thankyou. Amidst the cheeky hubris, there is a kernel of truth. And dark humor lets people ferret it out.

Rashmon · Nov 10, 2007

thumbs said:

Thankyou. Amidst the cheeky hubris, there is a kernel of truth. And dark humor lets people ferret it out.
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LOL

KingCheetah · Nov 10, 2007

With all the toys China is producing these days the world's supply of lead is in serious decline.

thumbs · Nov 10, 2007

KingCheetah said:

With all the toys China is producing these days the world's supply of lead is in serious decline.
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The lead in lead is led by whom?

Okay, I'm in one of my manic - depressive moods this morning. A little humor and hyperbole ease the depression over the Bush economy that is chilling retail sales and those intent on killing off the Christmas celebration (ACLU is the most obvious face). Combined, well, I'm just left with a hollow feeling.

Rashmon · Nov 10, 2007

I don't care if it's the National Socialist party if it means removing dangerous toys from our stores. Lead? Date rape drug coating? What's next, "Bag 'O Glass?"

I hear that the next big thing is building your own 1:52 scale miniature nuclear power plant with real plutonium.

Despite your derision, the ACLU works to preserve all of our rights from Commies to Fascists.

Ending Christmas? I don't think that is on the agenda.

Ottomaton · Nov 10, 2007

Rashmon said:

I hear that the next big thing is building your own 1:52 scale miniature nuclear power plant with real plutonium.
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Already done in the 50's (but Uranium, not Plutonium).

http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/gilbert_u238_atomic_energy_lab.php

LScolaDominates · Nov 10, 2007

thumbs said:

It doesn't matter. The ACLU and other politically correct organizations are eliminating Christmas anyway.

Don't get me wrong. Dangerous toys need to be kept from the marketplace. But then, again, there will be no reason for them. Tots and children have bigger, more important issues to occupy their time -- like sex, drugs and more space in the crib.
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No, militant consumerism already has killed Christmas. You're just looking for a scapegoat.

Rashmon · Nov 10, 2007

Ottomaton said:

Already done in the 50's (but Uranium, not Plutonium).

http://www.radarmagazine.com/features/2006/12/gilbert_u238_atomic_energy_lab.php

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No wonder Uncle Bob was sterile.

kungfueurotrash · Nov 11, 2007

This sketch was ahead of his time.... Boy the irony here is astonishing....

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