Toys R Us and Reggie’s have instructed all their stores to remove certain toys from their shelves following an urgent announcement by the agents of international toy manufacturer Mattel.
Affected toys reportedly contain either lead paint or tiny magnets that young children might swallow.
The Star reports that the local recall, according to advertisements drawn up by Just Fun Toys, includes on its list of items of things that should be returned: Polly Pocket magnetic play sets, sold since May 2003; Sarge cars sold since May this year; and Barbie and Tanner toys sold since May last year.
”No incidents or injuries have been reported to date that we know of, and the removal of these toys is a voluntary, proactive and precautionary action in the best interest of our customers,” Toys R Us director Issy Zimmerman said on Wednesday.
He called on consumers to bring the affected toys back to any Toys R Us or Reggie’s store, where a full refund will be processed, with or without a cash slip.
On Tuesday, a top United States senator called for the inspection of all Chinese toys imported into the US, after Mattel recalled 18-million Chinese-made products worldwide.
China insisted on Wednesday that the vast majority of its exports to the US were safe, but vowed to improve its safety procedures following the massive Mattel toy recall.
Officials said they would investigate the new recall, the latest in a series of Chinese product scares that have left the government insisting that the country’s food and goods are not dangerous for the rest of the world.
”For many years, there has been a complete and strict set of supervision systems to safeguard the quality and safety of China’s exports,” the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine said. ”The vast majority of China’s export products to the US conform to American standards.”
Nevertheless, the administration, which oversees the quality of China’s exports, said improvements in safety procedures could be made. ”Supervision and quarantine authorities across China will step up their efforts on spot checks. We will not tolerate the rare cases of illegal production and exports, and we are determined to crack down on them.”
The administration said it was looking into the Mattel recall, announced on Tuesday, and that it was working with US authorities to resolve any problems.
Mattel subsidiary Fisher-Price this month recalled nearly one million Chinese-made toys, including Sesame Street characters, that were decorated with lead-based paint. Another firm had to pull Thomas the Tank Engine train wooden toys off US shelves for similar reasons. — Sapa, AFP