Huge Toy Recall Scares Parents

By MARY SHEDDEN and BAIRD HELGESON The Tampa Tribune

Published: Aug 15, 2007

TAMPA - Ali Lund is so concerned about toy recalls she checked the serial numbers of her children's toys on the Internet.

Mattel's announcement Tuesday that it has recalled 9 million more toys has increased the Tampa mother's fears that her sons play with toys containing potentially dangerous amounts of lead or other hazards.

"I want to trust that it's isolated. But I worry about toys from China," Lund said Tuesday at Learning Express Toys in Westchase. These days, her pediatrician's number is on speed dial in case Internet searches fail to calm her nerves.

"I do what I can to feel more confident," said Lund, who shopped with her children, Andrew, 10 months, and William, 7.

Lund, like a growing number of Americans, is getting shellshocked by a recent rash of high-profile recalls from China, the nation responsible for making 80 percent of toys in the United States. The result: eroding consumer confidence as retailers head into the pivotal holiday shopping season.

"Heading into the fourth quarter, this is not a good time for this to happen," said Denise Moore, a Learning Express owner. The store opened four months ago and already has endured two product recalls.

Mattel's announcement is its second major recall in two weeks. This time, it included popular Barbie, Polly Pocket and "Cars" movie items for possibly containing lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed. Two weeks ago, 1.5 million Fisher-Price infant toys, also made in China, were recalled for possible lead-paint hazards for children.

The company is stepping up its oversight and testing in its production processes, Mattel chief executive Bob Eckert said.

"There is no guarantee that we will not be here again and have more recalls," he said. "We are testing at a very high level here."

Nancy A. Nord, acting U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission chairman, said no injuries had been reported with any of the products involved in Tuesday's recalls. She said the recalls were intentionally broad to prevent injuries.

Still, the recalls also have put store owners on the front lines of a toy safety crisis. Moore spent Tuesday afternoon checking the Learning Express inventory and found one recalled item: the Polly Pocket Pollywood limo, which retails for $18.99. She pulled the last two limos and put them behind the counter.

"It stinks to have to inconvenience customers," said Moore, who also posted a recall list to ease concerns. "But we don't want defective products on our shelves."

Wal-Mart Goes On Offensive

As the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart also is on the offensive. Though most of the recalled products were sold before 2007, remaining toys were removed and flagged in Wal-Mart's cash register software. The company also offered in-store refunds for the recalled Mattel products.

"We know how important it is for shoppers to feel confident in the toys they buy from Wal-Mart, so we are also in the process of examining additional quality assurance efforts with suppliers, including new testing, to provide customers with the confidence they need in the items they buy," the company said in a statement.

The Mattel announcement, and June's recall of 1.5 million Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys for lead paint, has triggered a flood of worried calls to the Hillsborough County Health Department, said its lead poisoning prevention coordinator, Cynthia O. Keeton. Parents are getting outraged, and she's encouraging them to refuse Mattel's offer for a replacement.

"Take it back to the store. On top of that, call the manufacturer and let them know you don't appreciate this. … You would rather have a refund," Keeton said.

In the United States today, 300,000 children under age 6 have been poisoned with lead, a toxin known to cause behavioral and neurological damage in young children. Children's products found to have more than 0.06 percent of lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.

Jessica Frohman, co-chairwoman of the Sierra Club's national toxins committee, said the response from Mattel and other companies is damage control for failing to meet existing recall standards. The Sierra Club recently announced it intended to sue 10 toy makers responsible for recalls. Mattel was added to that list Aug. 2.

"It's a very reactionary response. … We want them to talk to the Chinese government and see how they can improve their products," Frohman said.

She said, however, that four of the companies have contacted the Sierra Club about the potential lawsuit and want to discuss improving product safety. "These companies are really taking notice now and that's encouraging," she said.

Recalls Make Parents Cautious

Some parents said they are increasingly cautious about toys they buy and will generally steer clear of anything from China. Gone are the days when they would blindly appease their children's latest must-have toy list.

"Heading into Christmas, I will definitely look into things more closely, and won't buy them until I find out where they are from and how they are made," said Christa Moody, who was shopping with her children for Legos and Webkinz, the popular stuffed animals.

"It's scary," said Kathy Manfrey, who shopped at the store with her children, Michelle, 8, and Sam, 6. "It's really disappointing that they would even put that stuff on the market."

The latest recalls and claims by retailers to beef up inspections could be too late for some parents, such as Rob and Lisa Breakiron of Tampa. Their son Noah's diagnosis of lead poisoning last year made them incredibly wary of anything made in China.

"I haven't bought my child toys in a long time because of recalls," Lisa Breakiron said.

In fact, the recent Thomas the Tank Engine and Fisher-Price recalls led the family to have all of the boy's existing toys tested for lead. They recently bought him a new lunchbox, largely because the product included a safety label showing it had been tested as lead-safe.

The children's lunchbox labels likely stem from lead-related recalls the insulated containers faced a few years ago. Several makers - including Zak Designs and California Innovations - now include labels promoting their safety testing. Toronto-based California Innovations instituted a lead-safe detection program several years ago and hired eight independent inspectors to monitor its Chinese factory operations, President Mel Mogil said.

Though many retailers rely on written affidavits from Chinese manufacturers to guarantee that products are lead free, Mogil said investing in a staff of inspectors is better and allows him to "sleep at night."

"The affidavit - it's like a hot potato passed down the line," he said. "I can't rely on that. It doesn't mean people are dishonest. But things happen."

In the past two years, the nation's Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued recalls on dozens of children's toys and jewelry products for containing dangerous levels of lead. The number of products, however, has ramped up considerably since January, and Congress is considering making significant changes to the agency responsible for 15,000 nonfood-based products sold in the United States.

This latest recall includes about 9.3 million play sets that contain small, powerful magnets. Among the toys are Polly Pocket dolls and Barbie and Tanner play sets, along with Batman and OnePiece Triple Slash Zolo Roronoa action figures, and Doggie Day Care. Many of the magnetic toys are older and may have been purchased as early as 2003.

Also recalled Tuesday were 253,000 of Mattel's die-cast cars modeled after "Sarge" in the cartoon movie "Cars" that contain lead paint.

The Chinese government also is responding to the increased concern. Days after the Aug. 2 Fisher-Price recall, Chinese officials temporarily banned the toys' manufacturer, Lee Der Industrial Co., from exporting products. A Lee Der co-owner, Cheung Shu-hung, committed suicide at a warehouse over the weekend, a state-run newspaper reported Monday.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. Reporter Mary Shedden can be reached at (813)259-7365 or mshedden@tampatrib.com. Reporter Baird Hegelson can be reached at (813) 259-7668 or bhelgeson@tampatrib.com.