Fisher Price Recalls Popular Toys

Early Thursday morning, Fisher-Price, toy-maker of well-known Little People announced that it is recalling 83 types of toys - including popular Elmo, Dora and Diego characters because they contain high amounts of lead which if swallowed can be harmful if not fatal to your child. This worldwide recall involves 967,000 plastic toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August of 2007. This is the latest in a tidal wave of recalls that has heightened concern about the safety of Chinese-made products.

This recall is the first for Fisher-Price Inc. and parent company Mattel Inc, concerning lead paint. It is the largest recall for Mattel since 1998 when Fisher-Price had to remove about 10 million Power Wheels ride-on cars and trucks from toy stores. The small battery inside the child size vehicle could overheat and cause fires. There were also wiring problems that could prevent the little car or truck from stopping.

During an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, general manager of Fisher-Price David Allmark, said the problem was detected by an internal probe and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall is particularly upsetting since Mattel, known for its strict quality controls, is considered a role model in the toy business for how it operates in China.

Fisher-Price and the commission issued statements saying parents should keep said toys away from children and contact the company right away. The Consumer Product Safety Commission works with companies to issue recalls when it finds consumer goods that can be unsafe. Currently, any children's toys found to have more than .06% lead that is easy for a child to get to is subject to a recall.

David Allmark says the recall was "fast-tracked," which permitted the company to quarantine more than half of the toys before they even made it to store shelves. In negotiating particulars of the recall, Fisher-Price and the government sought to withhold details from the public until Thursday August 2^nd to give stores time to get the suspected toys off store shelves and Fisher-Price time to get its recall hot line operating.

Allmark also said that the recall was upsetting 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 a chance to do better at monitoring vendors who doesn't meet with Mattel's standards. "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," he said.

Carter Keithley, president of the Toy Industries Association, praised Mattel's speedy reaction to the dilemma, 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 patrons' minds with Christmas coming soon. "We are worried about the public feeling," said Keithley, adding he had seen how toy companies are implementing 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 equal value. To see pictures of the recalled toys, please visit http://www.service.mattel.com. For more information, call Mattel's recall hot line at 1-800-916-4498.span.jajahWraper { font-size:1em; color:#B11196; text-decoration:underline; } a.jajahLink { color:#000000; text-decoration:none; } span.jajahInLink:hover { background-color:#B11196; }