Another Huge Recall Of Chinese-Made Toys

More Than 500,000 More Products Taken Off The Market Due To Lead

(CBS/AP)  More than a half-million Chinese-made products were recalled Thursday, including “Pirates of the Caribbean” and Baby Einstein toys, because they contain dangerous levels of lead.

Coin-shaped “Pirates of the Caribbean” flashlights and soft, textured Baby Einstein blocks were among the 544,000 products recalled, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced. The recall also includes Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Set decorating kits imported and sold by Toys “R” Us Inc. and a variety of wooden toys imported and sold by KB Toys Inc.

The flashlight's leather strap, the back of the decorating kit's mirror, the blue Baby Einstein block and the wooden toys have surface paint that contains high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by young children. Under current regulations, children's products found to have more than .06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.

CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese noted that the effects of lead are cumulative.

“A lot of what is being recalled is because it violates the law, not that there is an imminent health risk,” she said.

The recall also included cups shaped like Frankenstein's head with high levels of lead in their surface paint. Other products not necessarily for children were: key chains containing high levels of lead, as well as bookmarks and journals with lead-tainted surface paint.

“There will be more recalls because of lead violations, but we also anticipate that we will begin to see fewer and fewer of them as a big portion of the marketplace will have been tested,” Vallese said. “What you're seeing now is the result of a systematic approach to going through inventories.”

Meanwhile, the repeated recalls have nervous parents wondering just which aisle in the toy department is safe, reports CBS News correspondent Sandra Hughes.

“It's been very frustrating and disappointing as a parent,” said Robyn Ross.

The recalls include:

About 35,000 Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks, distributed by Kids II Inc. The blocks were sold around the country between June and September. For more information, or to arrange for a free replacement block, call 866-203-6788 or visit http://www.kidsii.com.

About 79,000 “Pirates of the Caribbean” medallion squeeze lights, imported by the Eveready Battery Co., a brand of Energizer Holdings, Inc. The flashlights were sold nationwide and online between September 2006 and October 2007. For more information, or to receive a voucher for another Eveready product, call 800-925-0628 or visit http://www.Energizer.com.

About 15,000 Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Sets, manufactured by Hong Kong-based CKI Toys and imported by Toys “R” Us Inc. The kits were sold at Toys “R” Us stores around the country and on the company's Web site between May and September 2007. Return the sets to any Toys “R” Us store in exchange for store credit. For more information, call 800-869-7787 or visit http://www.toysrus.com.

About 10,000 wooden Pull-Along Alphabet & Math Blocks wagons, Pull-Along Learning Blocks wagons, 10-in-1 Activity Learning Carts and Flip-Flop alphabet blocks, imported by KB Toys Inc. The toys were sold at KB Toys stores around the country between August 2005 and September 2007. Return the toys to any KB Toys store in exchange for store credit. For more information call 888-843-9520 or visit http://www.recall.kbtinfo.com.

About 63,000 green, plastic cups shaped like Frankenstein's head, imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc. The cups were sold at Dollar general stores around the country in September. For a refund or replacement product, return the key chains to the place of purchase. For more information, call 800-678-9258 or visit http://www.dollargeneral.com.

About 192,000 key chains imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc. The key chains feature a metal charm engraved with “wisdom,” “truth,” “believe,” “love,” “hope” or “dream.” They were sold at Dollar General stores around the country between June 2005 and August 2007. For a refund or replacement product, return the key chains to the place of purchase. For more information, call 800-678-9258 or visit http://www.dollargeneral.com.

About 150,000 bookmarks and journals, imported by Antioch Publishing. The products feature a variety of decorations including breast cancer awareness and Winnie the Pooh. The bookmarks and journals were sold at book, card and gift stores around the country between March 2005 and October 2007. Some of the bookmarks were sold with bracelets. For more information, or to arrange for a refund, call 800-543-1515 or visit http://www.antioch.com.

© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Add a Comment See all 24 Comments

by erasmus6 October 4, 2007 5:15 PM PDT

OK, THAT''S IT!!!!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I say we bomb the b-a-s-t-ards!!!:)

Reply to this comment

by grammawhamma October 4, 2007 6:20 PM PDT

Dollar General stores are a subsidiary of WalMart.

Reply to this comment

by incog-nito October 4, 2007 6:53 PM PDT

I bet the problem is a lot bigger than people think. Toys make the headline because this concerns kids, but almost every consumer item nowadays is made in China, not just toys. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Reply to this comment

by erasmus6 October 4, 2007 7:36 PM PDT

"I bet the problem is a lot bigger than people think." posted by incog-nito

You better believe it!!

Years ago they called back plastic mini blinds because they had lead in them and I thought then that there is probably lead in everything. And when they started calling back kids jewelry, I KNEW there was lead in everything. If they put lead in kids jewelry, you can better believe they aren''t going to be careful with anything else.

The biggie is that there is probably lead in the dishes that people eat off of every day. And there are people that think that ALL dishes can go in the dishwasher. They can''t. If it doesn''t say dishwasher safe on them, they shouldn''t be going in the dishwasher. The finish on the dishes can break down when they are constantly put in the dishwasher, exposing the lead paint that is on them.

There are people that go to the doctor and the doctor doesn''t always know what is wrong with them. They probably have LEAD poisoning!!

Reply to this comment

by liberalme October 4, 2007 7:47 PM PDT

Lets just keep outsourcing those jobs!!!
Great way to pay low wages, and increase the bottom line.

Who cares who the products hurt--the bottom line for these companies is the ultimate sacrafice of the safety of Americans.

Try to buy anything in any store and see where it''s made---not here!!

We are stupid enough to pay top dollar for a shirt at Macys'' that was made in the same country as WalMart clothes.

We are stupid Americans---we have not paid attention for decades, now the proverbial poop is hitting the fan and we are outraged!

Now what are WE going to do?????????????

Reply to this comment

by lastdance2 October 4, 2007 8:11 PM PDT

It is Simply a - Family Affair - Family Pride - Family Values
The Uncle of Pres. Bush
Prescott Bush
Chairman, U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce;

The Bush Family - Who enjoys - $9.00 a month - Slave Labor -
Who Allows - Lead Painted Toys - Defective Merchandise -
Tainted and Poisoned Food Stuffs - To be shipped to the US. -
Purposely Intended for use and consumption by the American consumer.

Prescott Bush - Knowing - The Ratifications - of Poisoned Food - Lead Poisoning and
potentially Defective and Hazardous products. - To the American Parent and
The American Child - Prescott Bush Continues - To Allow those imports.

Pres. Bush - Cut funding to the Port Authority - Now there is only one (1) Inspector
at each port of entry. - To Inspect shipments from China
(nothing like a little - conflict of interest - between family members)

It is Simply a - Family Affair - Family Pride - Family Values

The FBI - The US Justice Department has always Worked on the Behalf of -
The Political Objectives and The Financial Objectives of -
The Republican (Nazi) Party - Criminal Corporate (Nazi) America

No Criminal Charges - On this Issue - Is Evidenced to that
There was a time - Treason - Corruption- Conflict of Interest - Was a Criminal Act

Boycott : All products from China

Lastdance

Reply to this comment

by liberalme October 4, 2007 8:28 PM PDT

You posted the same thing yesterday lastdance---this problem is ours--we should boycott everything not made here, but then we''d all probably starve and go naked!!!

Reply to this comment

by goldesprit October 4, 2007 8:42 PM PDT

The Chineese are going through a lot of value changes relating to hazards and profit--that we went thru in the 50s.
However, they are doing it with computers, and a different style of government.
We as the United States (formally through Law) must carry China fully into a future where we all actually live in the same social "time".
To facillitate this, we need formal sanctions that remove large blocks of our debt to China through proclamation-- this to be indexed by ...possible damages... in treble amounts, and enforced by all those countries that would claim to be our friends.
Absent this-- yes we should declare the dollar to be a seperate entity on the world market--and re-group regardless of degree of difficulty.
Many will say nothing can be done.
They always have.

Reply to this comment

by rationall7 October 4, 2007 9:28 PM PDT

lastdance 2
Well said!!!

Reply to this comment

by nothappyatall October 4, 2007 9:42 PM PDT

OH NO!!! TIME TO PANIC!!

PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!

%u201CA lot of what is being recalled is because it violates the law, not that there is an imminent health risk.%u201D

Well that''s the same *** thing! the law is there BECAUSE the lead exposure is a health risk, so if that law is violated it means the lead exposure exceeds the limits and therefore is unsafe- DUH

Reply to this comment

by nothappyatall October 4, 2007 9:43 PM PDT

OH NO!!! TIME TO PANIC!!

PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!

PANIC!!!

%u201CA lot of what is being recalled is because it violates the law, not that there is an imminent health risk.%u201D

Well thats the same dam.n thing! the law is there BECAUSE the lead exposure is a health risk, so if that law is violated it means the lead exposure exceeds the limits and therefore is unsafe- DUH

Reply to this comment

by liberalme October 4, 2007 9:57 PM PDT

huh?

Reply to this comment

by rationall7 October 4, 2007 10:14 PM PDT

Don''t get too alarmed over lead posioning in adults your concern should focus on the kids because they have a much lower tolerance. I work construction and had to get tested for lead before going onto a job and I found out not that many showed positive and the people that were positive worked on and in a lot of steel mill jobs.
So you may want to have your kids tested if in doubt.

Bottom line is China knows the requirements.

Another thing the republican devotees keep complaining about about all the goverment regulations that the democrats want to impose, I wonder if the republican consumer knowling wants to drop the lead level regulations on kids'' toys?

Reply to this comment

by liberalme October 4, 2007 10:14 PM PDT

Unfortunately, if are any monies to be mde up for this, I doubt very much it could be arranged by our illustrious government.

Our government is way in debt with China, China, on the other hand, has contracts with toy manufaturers primarily Mattel, based in California. I doubt if Mattel would ever consider relinquishing some of their losses to be paid to the government if China agreed to make up for the the losses.

Again, if we encouraged these companies to keep production here, we would, most likely, have safer products, it would provide Americans with jobs and justify the outrageous prices.

Reply to this comment

by sevenveils October 4, 2007 10:40 PM PDT

OK China, YOU owe the US a big appology for violating US laws regarding lead paint in toys and consumer items.

You know perfectly well what you''ve done, now give the US an apology

Reply to this comment

by incog-nito October 4, 2007 10:43 PM PDT

Another article in Yahoo says that millions of Boy Scout badges (made in China, where else?) are being recalled because of lead. I suspect the true scope of the problem is much bigger than people think. We''re talking about just toys, but most every consumer item is made in China nowadays. To think the problem is somehow limited to just toys would be extremely naive.

Reply to this comment

by liberalme October 4, 2007 10:47 PM PDT

China has already apologized, I guess we forgave them because they''re still making toys.
As someone previously suggested, perhaps we should start by boycotting things made in China.

Reply to this comment

by mainttom October 4, 2007 11:52 PM PDT

Where does a person buy paint with a high lead level? If China is still using paint with lead, can you imagine what is being used on all the other products produced there.

The elves in Santa''s workshop stopped using paint with lead years ago.

Reply to this comment

by antoniof123 October 5, 2007 12:11 AM PDT

Hey Di ck and George I thought that you were supposed to protect us from the bad guys. Wait you can''t protect us from poison tooth paste or lead in the paint so I am supposed to believe that you can protect us from terrorist. Yea, would you like to buy a piece of land in the Florida Everglades. Worst administration in American history, and they think we will forget by November 2008, hey there were some true Republicans in this country left but not anymore we left the Republican party to the reactionary wing nut fascist fake Christians.

Reply to this comment

by mcmilker October 5, 2007 8:45 AM PDT

This is most likely only the beginning. As we consumers demand cheaper and cheaper toys, more and more short cuts have resulted. These recalls have opened our eyes to this trend. This year many of us are cutting back and buying fewer, better made toys %u2013 wooden toys made in Europe (Haba, Ravensburger), costumes, American made open-ended toys with few small or breakable parts. There are lots of great, well made toys out there, online and at independent retailers. They just can%u2019t be found at the big box toy retailers%u2026yet.

The Not Quite Crunchy Parent

Reply to this comment

by lslp99 October 5, 2007 1:44 PM PDT

check out www.discoverytoyslink.com/lslp99
Yes China makes alot of products we all buy; but here you can at least buy SAFE TOYS that are educational and fun (see the quality guarantee on the site)!
Don''t cancel Christmas yet :-)

Reply to this comment

by name_verify October 7, 2007 7:57 PM PDT

Chinese are greedy and dangerous.

Reply to this comment

by veevslav October 7, 2007 8:33 PM PDT

Chinese are just playing to corporate America, which through lobbying owns the Democrats and Republicans. Yes Bush and co hasn''t fixed the problems but it started with Clinton and Co. One note though at least bush hasn''t been selling Nuclear missile technology, but thats because he cant spell it or say it. Bottom line just try boycotting as many Chinese mad products as possible.

Reply to this comment

by veevslav October 7, 2007 8:34 PM PDT

Chinese are just playing to corporate America, which through lobbying owns the Democrats and Republicans. Yes Bush and co hasn''t fixed the problems but it started with Clinton and Co. One note though at least bush hasn''t been selling Nuclear missile technology, but thats because he cant spell it or say it. Bottom line just try boycotting as many Chinese made products as possible.

Reply to this comment

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[erasmus6]

OK, THAT''S IT!!!!!! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

I say we bomb the b-a-s-t-ards!!!:)

[grammawhamma]

Dollar General stores are a subsidiary of WalMart.

[incog-nito]

I bet the problem is a lot bigger than people think. Toys make the headline because this concerns kids, but almost every consumer item nowadays is made in China, not just toys. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

[erasmus6]

"I bet the problem is a lot bigger than people think." posted by incog-nito

You better believe it!!

Years ago they called back plastic mini blinds because they had lead in them and I thought then that there is probably lead in everything. And when they started calling back kids jewelry, I KNEW there was lead in everything. If they put lead in kids jewelry, you can better believe they aren''t going to be careful with anything else.

The biggie is that there is probably lead in the dishes that people eat off of every day. And there are people that think that ALL dishes can go in the dishwasher. They can''t. If it doesn''t say dishwasher safe on them, they shouldn''t be going in the dishwasher. The finish on the dishes can break down when they are constantly put in the dishwasher, exposing the lead paint that is on them.

There are people that go to the doctor and the doctor doesn''t always know what is wrong with them. They probably have LEAD poisoning!!

[liberalme]

Lets just keep outsourcing those jobs!!!
Great way to pay low wages, and increase the bottom line.

Who cares who the products hurt--the bottom line for these companies is the ultimate sacrafice of the safety of Americans.

Try to buy anything in any store and see where it''s made---not here!!

We are stupid enough to pay top dollar for a shirt at Macys'' that was made in the same country as WalMart clothes.

We are stupid Americans---we have not paid attention for decades, now the proverbial poop is hitting the fan and we are outraged!

Now what are WE going to do?????????????

[lastdance2]

It is Simply a - Family Affair - Family Pride - Family Values
The Uncle of Pres. Bush
Prescott Bush
Chairman, U.S.-China Chamber of Commerce;

The Bush Family - Who enjoys - $9.00 a month - Slave Labor -
Who Allows - Lead Painted Toys - Defective Merchandise -
Tainted and Poisoned Food Stuffs - To be shipped to the US. -
Purposely Intended for use and consumption by the American consumer.

Prescott Bush - Knowing - The Ratifications - of Poisoned Food - Lead Poisoning and
potentially Defective and Hazardous products. - To the American Parent and
The American Child - Prescott Bush Continues - To Allow those imports.

Pres. Bush - Cut funding to the Port Authority - Now there is only one (1) Inspector
at each port of entry. - To Inspect shipments from China
(nothing like a little - conflict of interest - between family members)

It is Simply a - Family Affair - Family Pride - Family Values

The FBI - The US Justice Department has always Worked on the Behalf of -
The Political Objectives and The Financial Objectives of -
The Republican (Nazi) Party - Criminal Corporate (Nazi) America

No Criminal Charges - On this Issue - Is Evidenced to that
There was a time - Treason - Corruption- Conflict of Interest - Was a Criminal Act

Boycott : All products from China

Lastdance

[liberalme]

You posted the same thing yesterday lastdance---this problem is ours--we should boycott everything not made here, but then we''d all probably starve and go naked!!!

[goldesprit]

The Chineese are going through a lot of value changes relating to hazards and profit--that we went thru in the 50s.
However, they are doing it with computers, and a different style of government.
We as the United States (formally through Law) must carry China fully into a future where we all actually live in the same social "time".
To facillitate this, we need formal sanctions that remove large blocks of our debt to China through proclamation-- this to be indexed by ...possible damages... in treble amounts, and enforced by all those countries that would claim to be our friends.
Absent this-- yes we should declare the dollar to be a seperate entity on the world market--and re-group regardless of degree of difficulty.
Many will say nothing can be done.
They always have.

[rationall7]

lastdance 2
Well said!!!

[nothappyatall]

OH NO!!! TIME TO PANIC!!

PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!

%u201CA lot of what is being recalled is because it violates the law, not that there is an imminent health risk.%u201D

Well that''s the same *** thing! the law is there BECAUSE the lead exposure is a health risk, so if that law is violated it means the lead exposure exceeds the limits and therefore is unsafe- DUH

[nothappyatall]

OH NO!!! TIME TO PANIC!!

PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PRESS THE PANIC BUTTON, PARENTS - NO XMAS TOYS!!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!
PANIC!!!

PANIC!!!

%u201CA lot of what is being recalled is because it violates the law, not that there is an imminent health risk.%u201D

Well thats the same dam.n thing! the law is there BECAUSE the lead exposure is a health risk, so if that law is violated it means the lead exposure exceeds the limits and therefore is unsafe- DUH

[liberalme]

huh?

[rationall7]

Don''t get too alarmed over lead posioning in adults your concern should focus on the kids because they have a much lower tolerance. I work construction and had to get tested for lead before going onto a job and I found out not that many showed positive and the people that were positive worked on and in a lot of steel mill jobs.
So you may want to have your kids tested if in doubt.

Bottom line is China knows the requirements.

Another thing the republican devotees keep complaining about about all the goverment regulations that the democrats want to impose, I wonder if the republican consumer knowling wants to drop the lead level regulations on kids'' toys?

[liberalme]

Unfortunately, if are any monies to be mde up for this, I doubt very much it could be arranged by our illustrious government.

Our government is way in debt with China, China, on the other hand, has contracts with toy manufaturers primarily Mattel, based in California. I doubt if Mattel would ever consider relinquishing some of their losses to be paid to the government if China agreed to make up for the the losses.

Again, if we encouraged these companies to keep production here, we would, most likely, have safer products, it would provide Americans with jobs and justify the outrageous prices.

[sevenveils]

OK China, YOU owe the US a big appology for violating US laws regarding lead paint in toys and consumer items.

You know perfectly well what you''ve done, now give the US an apology

[incog-nito]

Another article in Yahoo says that millions of Boy Scout badges (made in China, where else?) are being recalled because of lead. I suspect the true scope of the problem is much bigger than people think. We''re talking about just toys, but most every consumer item is made in China nowadays. To think the problem is somehow limited to just toys would be extremely naive.

[liberalme]

China has already apologized, I guess we forgave them because they''re still making toys.
As someone previously suggested, perhaps we should start by boycotting things made in China.

[mainttom]

Where does a person buy paint with a high lead level? If China is still using paint with lead, can you imagine what is being used on all the other products produced there.

The elves in Santa''s workshop stopped using paint with lead years ago.

[antoniof123]

Hey Di ck and George I thought that you were supposed to protect us from the bad guys. Wait you can''t protect us from poison tooth paste or lead in the paint so I am supposed to believe that you can protect us from terrorist. Yea, would you like to buy a piece of land in the Florida Everglades. Worst administration in American history, and they think we will forget by November 2008, hey there were some true Republicans in this country left but not anymore we left the Republican party to the reactionary wing nut fascist fake Christians.

[mcmilker]

This is most likely only the beginning. As we consumers demand cheaper and cheaper toys, more and more short cuts have resulted. These recalls have opened our eyes to this trend. This year many of us are cutting back and buying fewer, better made toys %u2013 wooden toys made in Europe (Haba, Ravensburger), costumes, American made open-ended toys with few small or breakable parts. There are lots of great, well made toys out there, online and at independent retailers. They just can%u2019t be found at the big box toy retailers%u2026yet.

The Not Quite Crunchy Parent

[lslp99]

check out www.discoverytoyslink.com/lslp99
Yes China makes alot of products we all buy; but here you can at least buy SAFE TOYS that are educational and fun (see the quality guarantee on the site)!
Don''t cancel Christmas yet :-)

[name_verify]

Chinese are greedy and dangerous.

[veevslav]

Chinese are just playing to corporate America, which through lobbying owns the Democrats and Republicans. Yes Bush and co hasn''t fixed the problems but it started with Clinton and Co. One note though at least bush hasn''t been selling Nuclear missile technology, but thats because he cant spell it or say it. Bottom line just try boycotting as many Chinese mad products as possible.

[veevslav]

Chinese are just playing to corporate America, which through lobbying owns the Democrats and Republicans. Yes Bush and co hasn''t fixed the problems but it started with Clinton and Co. One note though at least bush hasn''t been selling Nuclear missile technology, but thats because he cant spell it or say it. Bottom line just try boycotting as many Chinese made products as possible.