China Halts "Date Rape Drug" Toy Exports

Toxic Chemical Recalled After "Aqua Dots" And "Bindeez" Sicken Children

(AP)  China's government has suspended exports of toys covered with a toxic chemical that have been subject to recalls from Australia to the United States after sickening children, the state-run Xinhua News Agency reported Friday.

China's move came as seven more U.S. children were reported ailing after ingesting Chinese-made toy beads because of the toxic chemical coating, bringing the total of U.S. children sickened to nine, according to a spokeswoman for the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The Chinese government's quality control administration issued the export ban, sealed the toys at the sites where they were produced and ordered an investigation, Xinhua said in a brief report.

Millions of units of the popular toys, which are sold as Aqua Dots in the United States and as Bindeez in Australia, were recalled in those countries as well as in Britain, Malaysia, Singapore and elsewhere this past week after children began falling sick from swallowing the toy's bead-like parts.

Tests showed they were coated with the industrial chemical 1,4-butanediol. When ingested the chemical metabolizes into the “date-rape” drug gamma hydroxy butyrate, and may cause breathing problems, loss of consciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death. In addition to the nine in the U.S., three children in Australia have taken sick.

The new reports of the sickened U.S. children, six of whom were hospitalized, came from at least five states: Texas, Delaware, New Hampshire, Illinois and Utah, said CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese.

The agency recalled the Aqua Dots toy Wednesday after two children were hospitalized after eating the beads.

The U.S. recall covers 4.2 million of the Aqua Dots toys, which consist of colored beads that can be arranged into designs and then fused together when sprayed with water.

The agency received its first report of a sickened child Monday and ordered stores to pull the toy two days later, Vallese said.

For China, the recall is the latest in a slew of product quality scandals that has tarnished the image of the country as an exporter of reliable goods. The government has tried to shore up China's reputation by increasing inspections, selectively punishing companies and launching a publicity campaign to boost quality.

Few details were available about the latest export suspension and how a popular toy became coated with a toxic chemical. The toys' maker, Australia-based Moose Enterprises, has said the product was manufactured in China. But neither the company nor the Chinese government have identified the factory or factories where the toys were produced.

Reached by telephone Saturday, a duty officer at the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, which issued the ban, said officials were not available to comment.

In its report, Xinhua said inspectors “sealed the bead toys at the producer” whose name was not released.

Companies worldwide have increasingly outsourced manufacturing, often choosing Chinese factories for their cost and quality. But heated competition among factories and the rising cost of labor, land and fuel have sometimes put pressure on profits, causing some producers to cut corners.

In the latest case, the Aqua Dots or Bindeez were supposed to have been coated with nontoxic 1,5-pentanediol, a chemical commonly used in computer printer ink. But that chemical generally sells for three or four times the price of the toxic compound found on the tainted toys, 1,4-butanediol.

[fridak-2009]

Don''t you just love the global economy? Whats next? Maybe we could sell blood from Haiti....

[excelsior9]

Does this suprise anyone? Read National Geographics issue on China from this year. There are no controls there and they let anyone simply open a factory. If they have no controls then the companies knowingly buying this stuff should. It all falls on thier shoulders, because they decided to overlook Chinas unwillingness to test the products.

[feelfree1]

"China Halts "Date Rape Drug" Toy Exports"

I guess that the Vatican will have to go the "e-bay" route.

[terrorislam5]

CHINA IS GOING DOWN!!!

Florida City Tries to Ban Chinese Products
Upset Over Recalls and Political Issues, One City Weighs a Ban on Chinese Goods
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/CreativeConsumer/story?id=3765361&page=1

[alphaa10-2009]

Ostensibly a communist state, the PRC has few controls on industry, with which it continues to experiment. The PRC brand of governmental control is a policy known as lessez faire-- or "leave alone".

Yet recent news makes clear lessez faire isn''t fair at all. industrialists left to their own designs and recognizance have no incentive to promote public health and safety anywhere.

In our own country, for example, the latter half of the 19th century saw horrendous abuses from American meat packers, whose practices were described in Sinclair''s The Jungle.

Eventually, after decades of American regulation in the 20th century, its industry became well aware of consumer issues, safety and health concerns. American industry began to offer much greater benefit to consumers than before. Today, we take our benefits for granted.

Now, running against the tide of history and politics, enter George Bush, who has tried for seven years to reintroduce his politically correct GOP ideology of lessez faire. As a globalist favoring multinational industry in his policies, Bush resists intelligent safeguards which protect our children and us, as well. Ironically, Bush and the good communists in Beijing share the same point of view.

[jetranger7]

Well I''m Quite Sure Ol'' Wal-Mart will be so happy about this, since everyting in their store is almost made in or from China, I think they should change their name to "CHINA-MART" !!!!

[harp1963]

Dear China,

Please grow up! Quit abusing your own people for the love of money and power. Do the right thing and be honorable. Set an example of helping the least of our brother.

[phil-in-fin]

harp1963 meant to say,

"Dear USA,

Please grow up! Quit abusing your own people for the love of money and power. Do the right thing and be honorable. Set an example of helping the least of our brother."

[mgpm-2009]

That''s a sick comment, Feelfree.

I can''t believe that there was no testing on this toy. We ought to stop ALL toys coming from China into this country.

America needs to learn a lesson from this. BUY AMERICAN. The Chinese do not care about human life. They mow down citizens who protest, they force abortions on women who don''t want them, and they make prisoners--political dissedents in many cases--and children work in sweatshops to make cheap products for export.

[iceman_1960]

"China Halts "Date Rape Drug" Toy Exports"

This would probably be Number 1 on David Letterman"s "Top 10 Worst Ideas of 2007" list:

"Lets coat children"s toys with a date rape drug chemical..."

[hypnotoad72]

excelsior9 - thank you. I will look up that National Geographic issue ASAP.

[mitywhity]

When we were kids the only toy you had was sticks, string, rope and old tires. Until a child is old enough to stop putting everything in their mouths I would not buy them any small toy. Buy American - that includes electronics, cars, clothes, food, etc.

[sasi1-2009]

As long as we continue to outsource our labor, this will happen. It is time to decide whether we are willing to pay for quality, or suffer in order to save money.

[terrorislam5]

The Death of a University

how social progressives killed a great university

The University of Ingolstadt was founded in 1472 by Louis the Rich, the Duke of Bavaria at the time, and its first Chancellor was the Bishop of Eichstdtt. It consisted of five faculties: humanities, sciences, theology, law and medicine, all of which were contained in the Hoheschule (''''high school''''). The university was modeled after the University of Vienna, and its chief goal was the propagation of the Christian faith. The university closed its doors in May of 1800, by order of the Prince-elector Maximilian IV (later Maximilian I, King of Bavaria).
The 1700s gave rise to the Enlightenment, a movement that was opposed to the church-run universities of which Ingolstadt was a prime example. The Jesuits gradually left the university as it sought to change with the times, until the university finally had become so secular that the greatest influence in Ingolstadt was Adam Weishaupt, founder of the secret society of the Illuminati. On November 25, 1799, the elector Maximilian IV announced that the university''''s depleted finances had become too great a weight for him to bear: the university would be moved to Landshut as a result. The university finished that year''''s school term, and left Ingolstadt in May of 1800, bringing to a quiet end the school that had, at its peak, been one of the most influential and powerful institutes of higher learning in Europe.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Ingolstadt

[greeneyes222]

Is there any legitimate use for said toxic chemical?

The fact that the Chinese government could identify the companies using this product means they knew what was happening and had no problem with it until they got caught. This wasn''t a decision made at the factory level. Our own government should have known as well.

A pr campaign isn''t going to fix anyone''s image here.

[fibonacci_]

I bet Michael Jackson is bummed that he can''t get a hold of these toys anymore.

[fibonacci_]

LMAO psy_war.

[lochlan-2009]

Show of hands... How many parents out there are buying toys made form China for their children this Christmas?

[fibonacci_]

Michael Jackson had a whole truckload of those toys coming in.

[erasmus6]

"Show of hands... How many parents out there are buying toys made form China for their children this Christmas?" posted by lochlan

The question should be: How many stupid-*** people out there are still buying ANY products that are made in China?

[spope517]

Toxic Toys
Perhaps it is time for US business to realize that we entrust far too much in overseas manufacturing. With the US job market in the state that it is in, bringing manufacturing back home will create jobs...yes products will cost more but what is more important? The mental and physical health of the nations children or the "bottom line". Well, we as parents know the answer but corporate America does not. This maybe the perfect time, holiday season, for a good old fashion boycott of toys made in China. This didn''t just start, people. This has been going on since the first manufacturer took their operation off shore. Children have been getting exposed to lead and chocking hazards for an extremely long time. Let''s organize and save this country''s future.

[cantshutup]

I HAVE NOT BOUGHT ANY FOOD, PERSONAL HYGIENE, OR ANY PRODUCTS MANUFACTURED IN CHINA IN 6 MONTHS...IT IS DIFFICULT AS SO MUCH STUFF COMES FROM THERE...BUT YOU CAN LIVE WITHOUT POISONED CHINESE PRODUCTS...DON"T BE LAZY, YOU MIGHT HAVE TO CHANGE SOME HABITS OR TRY NEW PRODUCTS BUT YOUR LIVES AND THE LIVES AND HEALTH OF YOUR CHILDReN ARE WORTH IT...YOU WILL ALSO LOOSE WEIGHT WHEN YOUR FOOD CHOICES CHANGE OR ARE LIMITED...I DID...MY FAMILY IS HEALTHIER...ONE MORE THING, THE WRITERS STRIKE...BIG DEAL...MORE TIME FOR OTHER THINGS BESIDES TV...EVER HEAR OF THE TERM "BREAD AND CIRCUSES?" LOOK IT UP, AMERICAN''S NEED TO STOP BEING SO LAZY, STUPID, AND APATHETIC...WAKE UP FOOLS!!!! YOU ARE BEING PUNKED BIG TIME AND YOU AND YOUR CHILDREN ARE THE ONES SUFFERING!!!!

[liberalme]

Bottom line is the Corporations!!

They "outsource" business for pennies on the dollar, rake in at least 300% per item being produced over there and not giving a RA how they''re made.

The corporations should be held responsible for their own lack of "oversite".

Fine the pants off them!!!

[denn034]

I''m glad they were recalled.

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[termtex01]

How about a headline like this?

Just Who Was At That Fake CLINTON Briefing?
CBS News refuses to run the story, for fear of offending Bill and Hillary.

"SIOUX CITY, Iowa %u2014 Democratic presidential frontrunner Hillary Clinton%u2019s campaign admitted Friday that it planted a global warming question in Newton, Iowa, Tuesday during a town hall meeting to discuss clean energy."

[liberalme]

Tex,

The article is about the *** China is making to kill our childres. You are(spamming) on the wrong article.

[gkc99]

"Posted by TermTex01 "



MORE Neoconscum spam, designed to distract from the topic at hand.

Shut the f*ck up, a$$hole!

[rushlimpdrug]

TermTex01 at 05:29 PM

TermTex01 it''s Saturday night and your brokeback cowboy "companion" is waiting for you on the river.
Enjoy your conserv evening together tonight.

[abigail531]

I cannot understand why the United States continues to import toys from China! And more importantly... Why do our toy companies continue to buy their toys? I understand that Matel even apologized to the Chinese government for their first toy ban.

[incog-nito]

With the all the news cominng regarding contaminated products from China, the Bush administration has been strangely quiet. Odd, don''t you think?

[incog-nito]

abigail531: What''s so hard to understand? Corporate American and the U.S. government both want to please China because that''s where the cheap labor is, not to mention the lack of any meaningful safety or labor laws. Also China is financing our deficit spending by buying U.S. bonds. It''s always a good idea to be nice to your debtor.

[jetranger7]

China just needs to STOP Exporting everything to the US, they should concentrate on what they''re good at, Eating Rice, playing KUNG-FU-GAMES, and eating with Chop-Sticks ! and Worshipping Bruce Lee ! Enoughs Enough !! Kung Fuey !!!!!

[kaelinda]

If there were no demand in America for "cheaper" products, the cost of labor could be borne by the corporations and they could still have handy little profits for their stockholders (you, me, the man next door, and the lady down the street). If Americans were able to understand what goes into the making of a product, they''d understand why costs keep going up. The owners have to buy or lease manufacturing space, pay for water, gas, electricity, and garbage disposal; pay union wages or salaries to all their employees, including paying into medical insurance, pension funds and unemployment insurance fund; they have to pay for raw materials that are shipped to their plant, and they have to pay for the shipping. to get the materials there. In addition to ALL THAT, they have to pay dividends to their stockholders, the people who invested in the company back when the shares were only $1 each. If Americans were really intent on saving money, they''d bring the manufacturing business back to America - just think of the millions they''d save by not having to stop all the shipments and send them back to China!

[excelsior9]

So who is going to appologize to China this time? The White House?

[excelsior9]

Bottom line is the companies buying this garbage are trying to make a buck. In turn retailers like Wal-Mart, Target and K-mart are too. Once the product leaves China nobody along the line cares about our children. They only care about the bottom line. Watch them all play dumb as if they didnt know. They have a responsibility to test the products just the same. Makes you wonder what other household products from China are tainted. I think this is just the tip of the iceberg. It doesnt stop at toys. Simply nobody is looking beyond toys.

[trillion1]

We make a concerted effort not to buy anything made in China. It is difficult. There are only the two of us and I know our avoiding the Made In China label won''t effect the bottom line of any companies but we sleep better at night.

[jrcolmena]

America is a symbol of Freedom,
You are free to buy what you want.
Don''t want Chinese, Don''t buy chinese
Or you want big brother to tell you what to buy?

[sparks224]

I%u2019m just glad we don%u2019t have those pesky government regulations interfering with the %u201Cfree market%u201D.