More than 20% of toys made in China for its domestic market are substandard or potentially dangerous, state media said on Tuesday in the latest example of the country’s lax consumer-product controls.
A report by China’s quality-control watchdog found widespread sales of dangerous playthings including shooting toys with inadequate safety features and others with sharp edges or small parts that pose a choking risk, the China Daily newspaper said.
At least 10 000 children are hurt by dangerous toys each year, the paper reported, quoting official figures.
The report was based on an investigation by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine into 105 types toys made in China, the world-largest toy manufacturer.
None of the four toy guns studied were up to standard because the safety features could easily be torn off. The toys also could shoot other projectiles, such as pencils, the report said.
The paper also cited recent media reports that industrial waste, ”including dirty carpet fluff, paper and used instant-noodle packaging, had been found stuffed inside toys” made in north China’s Hebei province and sold nationwide.
The investigation did not look at any toys make for export.
China is the world’s largest exporter of toys, totalling more than $6,5-billion worth in 2005, according to Chinese figures.
However, safety concerns have been growing overseas, with both the United States and European Union ordering major recalls or issuing warnings about Chinese-made toys.
The quality control agency said last week that beginning on June 1 it would ban the sale of toys that fail to pass a national compulsory safety certification.
China also this month announced a major crackdown on unsafe food products following a series of scares over Chinese-produced foodstuffs both in domestic and foreign markets. ‒ Sapa-AFP