Thousands more toys recalled over safety fears

US toy firm Mattel is recalling 55,000 Chinese-made toys because of lead contamination fears.

The recall affects 12,000 toys in the UK and Ireland, 38,000 toys in the US and 5,500 toys in Canada.

The items affected are 'Go Diego Go' Animal Rescue Boat toys imported by Fisher-Price.

The move is part of a wider recall of 665,000 by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Mattel recalled million of toys over the summer for lead-tainted toys and toys with small, powerful magnets that could cause intestinal perforations if swallowed.

At the time of the worldwide recall of 18.6 million toys, Mattel chief executive Bob Eckert predicted more recalls as a result of stepped-up oversight and testing.

Surface paint on the Go Diego Go Animal Rescue boats contain excessive levels of lead.

Several Diego toys were included in the August recall of 1.5 million Mattel toys.

Lead is toxic if ingested by young children. Under current regulations, children’s products found to have more than 0.06% lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.

Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese said the recalls are due to the increased scrutiny promised in recent months.

“The CPSC, as well as manufacturers, continue to look for products that may violate the lead paint standard,” she said.

Mattel spokeswoman Lisa Marie Bongiovanni said the Diego boats were discovered as part of retroactive testing on products shipping out of Asia that were put on hold after the August recalls.

The CPSC also announced recalls of 627,000 other Chinese-made toys from various manufacturers that are contaminated with lead. The other toys include football bobble head cake decorations, Shrek the Third and Spider-Man 3 flashing rings, children’s jewellery and toy gardening tools.

Vallese reminded parents that the effects of lead are cumulative and that the biggest risk to children remains lead paint in homes.

Representatives from Fisher-Price were not immediately available for comment.