Toys Linked To "Date Rape" Drug Pulled

Aqua Dots Metabolize Into GHB When Swallowed And Can Cause Comas

(CBS/AP)  China-made toys seized in Hong Kong were being tested Thursday after scientists in Australia found that similar toys contained a chemical that converts into a powerful 'date rape' drug when ingested, officials said.

At least five children in the United States and Australia have been hospitalized after swallowing the toy beads, which are used in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused when sprayed with water.

"They look like brightly colored little candies and they're manufactured in China, where, as you know, they're cutting corners in these factories, using toxic chemicals," Early Show co-anchor Hannah Storm remarked Thursday during an interview of Julie Vallese, spokesperson for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Australian scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date-rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound - made from common and easily available ingredients - can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

The toys were sent to a laboratory in Hong Kong for tests, a customs official said, requesting anonymity in line with policy.

If the tests come back positive for the chemical, suppliers of the toy in Hong Kong could face jail terms of one year and fines of $12,877, she said.

The toys are called Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year at an industry function this year, and in the United States they go by the name Aqua Dots.

Retailer Toys "R" Us said in a statement it pulled all the toy beads from its stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia after officials in Australia ordered them off the shelves Tuesday.

"We were alerted just this week of the incidents, and this was lightning speed to get this product off the shelves," Vallese told The Early Show. "We want parents to act equally as fast, making sure that they take this product away from their kids."

A woman whose toddler son ingested a popular toy that contains a chemical that turns into a powerful "date rape" drug when eaten said she knew he was ill when he began to stumble, seemed drunk and started vomiting.

The mother, Shelby Esses, said her 20-month-old son Jacob, fell down and was limp after getting into his older sister's Aqua Dots.

"And that's when we knew what he had eaten and that things were pretty bad," she told ABC's "Good Morning America."

A company spokeswoman for Moose Enterprises' Hong Kong office said the production of the toy was outsourced to a mainland Chinese factory. She refused to elaborate and referred all further requests for comment to the company's head office in Australia.

"Our Hong Kong office is only responsible for operations such as logistics and shipping arrangements, we don't have any firsthand information," the employee, who would only give her surname, Lo, told The Associated Press.

Moose Enterprises earlier said Bindeez and Aqua Dots were made at the same factory in Shenzhen, in China's southern Guangdong province. The company said the product is distributed in 40 countries.

The toys were supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained the harmful 1,4-butanediol, which is widely used in cleaners and plastics.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1999 declared the chemical a Class I Health Hazard, meaning it can cause life-threatening harm.

Both chemicals are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet.

It's not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 a ton.

Vallese says parents should be vigilant.

"Look in the carpets. Look under the sofa. Make sure that none of these little beads are just stray around your house because we don't want them in the hands of children, and we certainly don't want them to ingest them at all," she told The Early Show.

Editor's note: The quote of Hannah Storm in the third paragraph of this story was earlier attributed to Julie Vallese.

[ecm1980]

Wow, I am so glad that I never bought those. It almost feels like toys just aren''t safe to be buying right now until they get this whole toy recall issue gets fixed.

[red1530]

Here we go again, another recall on goods from China.

[likeitis5050]

How''s that outsourcing to save money workin'' for ya?

[feelfree1]

Re: "Millions of Chinese-made toys for children have been pulled from shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they contain a chemical that converts into a powerful "date rape" drug when ingested. "

The "wide-stancers" will be racing to the stores before these toys are returned, no doubt!

[feelfree1]

Re: "Toys Containing "Date Rate" Drug Pulled"

Have the CBS proof-readers been swallowing their beads?

[tato_4x4]

Has anyone suggested yet that maybe all these toxic substances included in goods imported from China may not be accidental?

[kansas1946]

Good Lord. You know, I think it is time for Americans to quit worrying about the latest toy for their kids, and refuse to buy anything made in China. This is getting ridiculous. Now maybe folks will understant why things cost more that are made and distributed in the US. Because we ''effin have regulations that are designed to prevent these kinds of things. God, we have not allowed lead paint in this country for decades, and yet the Chinese just slather it on everything. You get what you pay for folks, and cheap gets you poison for your kids.

[likeitis5050]

Made In China....has always been the equivilent of cr..ap, so where are these brilliant businessmen who thought things would be different now? Let me guess...CEOs with golden parachutes worth billons, right? Figures. Time to cut this outsourcing out of our budgets.

[kansas1946]

Maybe this will help. I looked at the site, and lots of neat tows, MADE IN USA. Let''s do it. I have a two year old grandaughter, and I am not buying anything from China.

http://www.toysmadeinamerica.com/

[peguesplace]

Looks like the child molesters have found yet another way to get to our kids.... Kiddie date rape toys!... Good Grief Charlie Brown!!

[newsjunky5]

I know somebody who would never wear beads that tacky.
Vote for Rupaul for president!

[erasmus6]

If all our kid''s toys have lead in them, you can bet all our pet''s toys also have lead in them, in fact they probably have twice the amount.

[andor3]

So here is what I do not understand: are these toys designed in China and sold there also, or only made for export here. And if made for export, who decides what paint and materials to use, etc.? Shouldn''t the US company outsourcing make those choices?

[benderbg]

Some people deserve what they get. This includes the idiots who believe that US companies are not responsible for the manufacture of THEIR products, be it in China, Taiwan, or the moon.

It is the responsibility of the US company to specify the manfufacturing ingredients, along with the specs for the design of the products, AND to monitor the quality OF THEIR OWN PRODUCTS.

To that person who implied that the Chinese are intentionally trying to poison anyone, it''s time for your meds.

[juwboy]

About 20 years ago, the substance in question, polyhydroxybutyrate, was touted as a potential, environmentally-friendly, biodegradable plastic.

However, as soon as it was realised that the biodegradation product, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, had undesirable pharmacological effects, the research (in Germany) was abandoned.

[scoliosuxs]

How in the world does a date rape drug get used to make a child''s toy? I agree the US companies outsourcing jobs to China need to be held accountable. These CEO''s know exactly what is going on to make the toys less expensive over toys made in the good old USA. I guess it is time to pull out their golden parachutes because even if Congress investigates they will all land on their feet. Let a parent do something like this to a toy and they go to prison. This amounts to nothing more than big time child abuse.

[briannorwood]

"In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots..."

Geez, when I was in college, we called them "micro dots"!

Gotta get me some of them Aqua Dots!

[missingamerica]

Just as well.

They made way too big a splash going into a drink, anyway.

[taylor613]

I was in my car this morning listening to CBS on the radio and caught the interview with the CPSC regarding the tainted toys. I didn''t catch who the interviewer was but I have to say that she was incredibly rude and unprofessional and should be fired. That wasn''t an interview - it was an attack.

[antoniof123]

Hey People how is that voluntary thing going for you remember the one where the GOP said let businesses take care of it.

Glad I don''t buy that junk for my kids.

[antoniof123]

Hey people maybe now you see why your parents changed the rules from let the buyer beware to let the seller beware.

But wait that is not the Republican way they say the seller will take care of the buyer.

How is it going so far GOP.

[hockeymanvt]

How long before the administration''s FDA declares lead to be a micro-nutrient?

[nswanerka]

I would just like to compliment Hannah Storm on her interview this morning with the lady from the CPSC. I think that Hannah simply stated what a lot of other moms including myself were thinking. I don''t feel that the company is doing enough to protect our children, there have been too many recalls lately. It''s ridiculous for our children to be put in that kind of danger.

[missingamerica]

I didn''t catch who the interviewer was but I have to say that she was incredibly rude and unprofessional and should be fired. That wasn''''t an interview - it was an attack.

Posted by Taylor613 at 08:02 AM : Nov 08, 2007

I didn''t catch the interview in question, but after seven years of this Administration and the attack ads they got into power with, I have to say that harsh questioning is the only thing they will respond to.

They certainly don''t respond to their job descriptions, the spirit of the law, the letter of the law, the Constitution, the wishes of the majority of the nation''s citizens, or even good common sense.

[gygls73]

Hello - I am a mom too!

I WANTED to HEAR what the the lady was saying from the CPSC. Not Hannah Storm rudely overtalking her. That is not an interview! That was just being RUDE and trying to get her flame points in. It was not the fault of that lady for this recall. Hannah Storm made it a very personal attack and should be made to apologize!

And there are US inspectors in the countries these toys are coming from. They need to be more aggressive and better trained to catch items like this BEFORE they are shipped.

[gygls73]

It''s not exactly the toy- it''s the GLUE that keeps the beads together - as stated in the report this morning

[missingamerica]

You and Taylor613 are one and the same, gygls73?

[oct2oct]

The interviewer for this report was extremely unprofessional. She is on the job as a reporter and came off as an "over the edge" Mom. The woman interviewed from the government was doing her job and reporting the risk. This reporter should be pulled from live interviewing and publicly apologize to the woman she interviewed. Dumping a problem with such large repercussions on the person sent to represent her employer is extremely inappropriate and rude.

[missingamerica]

"Unprofessional"?

I''m of the opinion that anybody who intentionally went to work for this Administration knew they were getting into a barrel with a skunk in it, and shouldn''t be offended to find out that the American Public - and reporters - have found that they don''t like the stink that perfumes their clothes.

[jetlizhan]

a mere fine of $12,877?? you gotta be kidding. kids are in comas and could die from this ''cutting corners'' type of manufacturing. the fine should be at least $1M per sick child. that''ll burn their pockets.

[omega39-2009]

I was in my car this morning listening to CBS on the radio and caught the interview with the CPSC regarding the tainted toys. I didn''''t catch who the interviewer was but I have to say that she was incredibly rude and unprofessional and should be fired. That wasn''''t an interview - it was an attack.
Posted by Taylor613

Well gee Taylor613, just last week we heard that the head of the CPSC didn''t want her budget and powers expanded, and then hearing two days later that she was jet setting all over the globe on the dimes of the people she is supposed to be watching. Why should it surprise you that people are getting tired of the rotten stink of corruption coming out of this administration?

[nor-one]

When you take the job as spokesperson for any of these companys you are standing in for the people who should be getting the *** for their junk. When you take their money, take the shi$ that goes with it and don''t expect any better treatment than the person your paid to front for!

[allunknowing]

Sooooo will eating this toy help me sleep better?

I''d get Lunesta but the cost of seeing a doctor and getting prescription meds is ridiculous. I''d much rather buy $5 worth of beads and sleep good for a year.

Thanks China!

[nolalou]

I saw this reported on TV, and these things could easily be confused for candy, especialy by children!
Even if they were not poisoned, why would they be allowed to sell something that almost invites children to put them in their mouth!

[forthepeopl1]

SO GO AHEAD AMERICANS BE WEAK, THIS IS COMMING....IT IS TIME FOR A REVOLUTION,TIME TO STOP BUSH/CHENEY


The violence broke out after an estimated 80,000 ant-iBUSH demonstrators - led by university students - marched peacefully to the Supreme Court to protest constitutional changes that would greatly expand BUSH/CHENEY power if voters agree to the changes in December. Unrest, if it continues, could mar a Dec. 2 referendum on the controversial reforms
The amendments being protested would abolish presidential term limits, give the president control over the Central Bank and let him create new provinces governed by handpicked officials.
The protesters demand the referendum be suspended, saying the amendments would weaken civil liberties and give BUSH AND CHENEY unprecedented power to declare states of emergency.
``Don''''''''t allow AMERICA to go down a path that nobody wants to cross , during the march to the Supreme Court.
BUSH, who was first elected in2000, denies the reforms threaten freedom. He says they would instead move AMERICA toward what he calls ``21st century socialism.''''''''''''''''
In televised comments prior to the unrest, BUSH urged ALL AMERICANS to turn out en masse to vote for the reforms. In reference to the opposition, he said: ``Don''''''''t go crazy.''''''''''''''''

SO GO AHEAD AND VOTE HER IN AMERICA, AND SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THEY WANT...

WITH 250 MILLION AMERICANS THEY CANT KILL US ALL..TIME FOR A REVOLUTION.

[missingamerica]

Ruh-roh - I hope nobody at FEMA follows the Administration''s policy of "corporations first" and buys up all of these Aquabeads to pass out to all of those sick kids in those sick FEMA trailors as an even sicker PR stunt.

[stezzer]

Not made in China are they? Oh yes, they are. Well can''t say I''m stunned. Although I would be if I ate one.

[gunownerdan]

Every day more and more foods like nuts, seafood, soybeans, and even fruit juice is coming in from China. If you think the chemicals are bad in Chinese toys, just imagine what kind of pesticides and other dangerous chemicals they are spraying on their fruits and vegetables. I bet there is also very little to no regulation for hormones, steroids, and other injections being used in chinese meats.
The problem will not get better any time soon.

[radiob-2009]

Good afternoon to you Stezzer. It''s what around 4 pm in England now? This is a direct result of the United States continuing to outsource our manufacturing, assembly and services. Several pairs of "teeth" need to be placed into these trade agreements not only for the safety of the consumer but also for the economies of the US and Europe.

[archiej2]

This kind of thing should not come as a surprise to anyone. The Clinton administration as well as the Bush administration are both big proponents of trading with communist China. So what do you expect? Neither administration ever had any regard for either children or the middle class worker. And the majority of the American public wants an additional four years of this by? Don''t forget, Hillary is also for ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FOLKS!!!

[nananora]

Why in the world are we still letting anything come in from China, it looks like they are sabatoshing almost every thing that is sent to this country, when is our fearless leader Mr. Bush going to stop all corospondence with china?

[archiej2]

This kind of thing should not come as a surprise to anyone. The Clinton administration as well as the Bush administration are both big proponents of trading with communist China. So what do you expect? Neither administration ever had any regard for either children or the middle class worker. And the majority of Americans want an additional four years of this? Don''t forget, Hillary is also for ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION FOLKS!!!

[pepperp1]

makes you wonder if these are really mistakes. No toys for christmas sorry.

[rmerino236]

Ireally dont understand this country, we are letting our troops die for something that is not are problem anymore, we are worried about the illeagl people in this country, but the goverment and the people here are still buying things from china who are trying to kill us from the stuff they send and we dont do anything about it, but if it came from mexico boy we would hear every body in the country saying something bad are we affraid of the chiness or something why cant we stop them like we try to stop every other country that tries to hurt us, wake up people the mexicans aint going to kill us the rest of the world is.

[incog-nito]

With all the news about contaminated products from China, Bush has been strangely quiet on this.

[Gweduc]

Our country has sold its soul to China. We traded our working force for one in China and expected them to respect us for doing it. The respect we get is just beginning to be seen in toys. Of course toys tug at our heartstrings because they affect that which is most precious to us. But don''t believe for a minute that this will end here. We insist upon trading with a country who does not respect our laws, morals or culture in the interest of the almighty dollar. YES we are trading in China to put a few extra dollars in the pockets of a select few individuals in the United States while robbing thousands of people of good jobs in our country. Thanks Clinton for ensuring that they received most favored nation trading status. Thanks Bush for ignoring the fact in the interest of the corporations who support him. But really can we blame our politicians it is all of us who are demanding to pay the lowest possible price at your local discount store to save a buck. Is it surprising that we get a cheap substandard product???

[Gweduc]

Our country has sold its soul to China. We traded our working force for one in China and expected them to respect us for doing it. The respect we get is just beginning to be seen in toys. Of course toys tug at our heartstrings because they affect that which is most precious to us. But don''t believe for a minute that this will end here. We insist upon trading with a country who does not respect our laws, morals or culture in the interest of the almighty dollar. YES we are trading in China to put a few extra dollars in the pockets of a select few individuals in the United States while robbing thousands of people of good jobs in our country. Thanks Clinton for ensuring that they received most favored nation trading status. Thanks Bush for ignoring the fact in the interest of the corporations who support him. But really can we blame our politicians it is all of us who are demanding to pay the lowest possible price at your local discount store to save a buck. Is it surprising that we get a cheap substandard product???

[incog-nito]

Gweduc: It is wrong to blame the consumer for wanting to get the best bargain. OF COURSE they do. That''s ALWAYS been the case since the beginning of time. The consumer cannot be expected to investigate and research every item they purchase. Even if they try they''re not likely to get anywhere. Who are in a better position to inspect products: your average Joe, or the corporations who deal with the supplier directly? Blaming the consumer is a copout.

[rikedoid]

More *** from the place that seems to excel at ***, over and over and over. Folks, I know it''s hard to find stuff made elsewhere, but if you can find it, buy it. Write you congressman or MP or whoever and get the government to start doing it''s job to keep this trash out of the country altogether. Here''s a radical idea - how about we start manufacturing quality stuff right here in North America and get people working too. Offshoring is a sellout.

[ccwitc]

Yes...Hanna Storm! It''s about time someone on tv stood up to government officials that sit there and say the american public is protected. They aren''t protecting us, they''re more concerned about lining each others pockets. I''m sick and tired of media letting them get away with it. Hanna had the courage to tell the lady that she''s not protecting us on national tv and that''s the best thing i''ve seen in a lon g long time. I love you Hanna!!!!!!