| US toy giant recalls 27,000 Chinese art sets |
THE world's largest toy retailer has announced the recall of 27,000 Chinese-made art sets because the paint used on the wooden package contained excessive levels of lead, Xinhua news agency reported today.
Toys "R" Us said it has sold about 8,300 of the art kits nationwide since October 2006.
The set contains crayons, pastels, colored pencils, fiber pens, water colors, a palette and other art supplies in a wooden carrying case.
However, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said no injuries caused by the product have been reported, Xinhua said.
Nancy Nord, the chairwoman of the commission, said it's unwise to exaggerate the safety problem of some Chinese products and turn the situation into a trade dispute.
The US and Chinese governments are discussing ways to strengthen cooperation to cut down on similar problems, Nord said.
She said she is still confident in Chinese products, as are US consumers, Xinhua reported.
The safety problems with Chinese products have come under the spotlight after some overseas companies recalled tainted Chinese-made products, such as food, toothpaste and toys.
Mattel Inc, the world's largest toy maker, has recalled almost 20 million Chinese-made toys, including dolls, cars and action figures, since August after reports said some items were contaminated with lead paint, while others had small magnets that children might swallow.
Li Changjiang, head of China's General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said on Monday that Mattel should face up to its responsibility for the recall as 85 percent of the unsafe toys had problematic designs.
He said that most Chinese-made toys are safe, and the recalled toys only made up a small portion of the 22 billion toys exported from China last year.
Li noted that some accusations of quality shortcomings in Chinese products were caused by different standards in different countries.
Li admitted there were problems with some Chinese products, such as toothpaste that was found to contain poisonous chemicals, which the government was trying to correct.
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