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.

[sparks224]

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

[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?

[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.

[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.

[excelsior9]

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

[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!

[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 !!!!!

[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.

[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?

[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.

[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.

[gkc99]

"Posted by TermTex01 "



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

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

[liberalme]

Tex,

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

[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."