Companies recalled nearly 1 million Chinese-made toys in 2007

By Mark Huffman, ConsumerAffairs.com

Mattel Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Fisher-Price Inc. have agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty for violating the federal lead paint ban, in connection with 2007’s high-profile recalls of nearly 1 million toys.

The recalled toys, most of them made in China, included Elmo Light Up Musical Pal, Big Bird Light Up Musical Pal, Dora’s Talking House, Go Diego Go Antarctic Rescue, and Sesame Street Birthday Figure Pack.

The penalty settlement, which has been provisionally accepted by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, resolves allegations that the companies knowingly imported and sold children’s toys with paints or other surface coatings that contained lead levels that violated a 30-year-old federal law.

In 1978, a federal ban was put in place that prohibited toys and other children’s articles from having more than 0.06 percent lead, by weight, in paints or surface coatings. In 2007, about 95 Mattel and Fisher-Price toy models were determined to have exceeded this limit. Lead can be toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health consequences.

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~Sandy G.