Dangerous Toy Recalls
A high incidence of toy recalls has plagued the US for the past ten years. Legally imported and counterfeit “brand name” toys and games have been brought to the US built in China and Taiwan, some of the worst perpetrators. From the 1960s to the 1990s, there were many products from different countries, including the US, that were required to issue recalls. With revamped US manufacturing specifications for merchandise sales specifications, much of the recall concern has shifted to imported items. Today, consumer protection agencies have massive databases of recalled products, with China being the main supplier of these. Then there are the US companies that compound those problems with their own import regulations and lack of quality testing. These types of toys carry the danger of choking, lead exposure and everything in between. These are just a few examples of toy hazard recalls today.
Rhino Toys, a California-based corporation, has issued a recall for approximately 5,500 packages of “Beado Handheld Bead Play Toys.” These are toys made in China and imported into the US by the company. They are manufactured with very low quality control requirements which have caused the wires that hold small beads to the toys to come off because they were not assembled with the proper adhesive. This has resulted in toys being labeled as “choking hazard” for young children. The affected batch of toys bears a model number of 1501 and has a date code of 02910 0432A. The toys are sold at specialty toy stores for about $12.
Family Dollar Stores Inc. of Charlotte, North Carolina, filed a recall of 1,800,000 packages of toy dart guns due to a choking hazard. This is due to the choking deaths of a 9-year-old boy from Chicago and a 10-year-old boy from Wisconsin. The darts are very soft and easy to bend, if stuck in a small child’s mouth they can be inhaled down the throat and cause death by choking. Item has been distributed only at Family Dollar Stores. The item numbers affected in this recall are P238 and 9328. Again, this merchandise was made in China. Consumers can take the guns to any of the retail stores for a refund.
Discount School Supply launched a voluntary recall in cooperation with the Consumer Protection Safety Commission for approximately three thousand units of “Double Egg Shakers,” an inexpensive package of a pair of toy eggs that make various noises. Red colored eggs contain excessive amounts of lead, which violates US health and safety specifications. The toys were made in Taiwan and offered for around $3.00 at discount school supply retailers from April 2009 to December 2009.
Imagine Nation Books Ltd./Books Are Fun, based in Boulder, Colorado, has issued a voluntary recall of the “Fly Dragonfly” toy helicopter. Prior to the recall, there were 49 counts of overheating of the rechargeable battery in the toy. Six reported flames coming out of the helicopter. The toy also goes by the name “Queen Bee” and they have a SKU #51727. Fly Dragonfly was offered at gift shows in schools, office buildings, and hospitals for approximately $38.00. The toy was made in China.
These are just a few of a long list (maintained by various consumer agencies) of recalls of dangerous toys that carry some threat of being outright dangerous and are made in China. Before you pick up built in China, it would be a good idea to check with any of the consumer advocacy agencies before giving it to your young child. If you discover that you have any toys or games that could be dangerous, throw them away or return them to the store immediately. It is illegal to resell any item that has been officially declared dangerous and has been recalled by a federal government agency or cooperative enterprise.