Thousands of toys withdrawn over lead fears

FISHER-PRICE is recalling tens of thousands of Dora The Explorer and Lazy Town toys from Irish toy shops due to concerns they contain excessive amounts of lead in their surface paint.

The recall is part of a global withdrawal of nearly one million Chinese-made plastic pre-school toys over safety fears and comes as an embarrassment for Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel, which has previously prided itself on strict quality controls.

The toys are used by children as young as two.

Smyths Toys, one of the biggest toy store chains in the country, said yesterday that these toys were “a popular purchase”.

Spokeswoman Sarah Moran said all of the recalled items were removed from stores yesterday.

“Anyone bringing in any of the toys will be given a full refund,” she said.

Toymaker Mattel said no injuries had occurred as a result of the toys, but urged parents to stop children using the affected products immediately.

Mattel said a “thorough investigation” was under way into how the products made their way on to the shelves.

In a statement, Mattel said: “The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a release recalling a number of Fisher-Price licence character toys. 94,305 units of these products have been sold in Britain and Ireland.

“The toys were available from May 2007 to August 2007”.

“We will arrange for the return of the item and replacement toy of equivalent value. There have been no injuries regarding these products but the surface paint of toys concerned contain excessive levels of lead.”

In an Associated Press interview, Fisher-Price general manager David Allmark said the problem was detected by an internal probe and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The latest recall has also served to heighten growing concerns over the safety record of Chinese-made goods. The United States stepped up inspections of imports from China after a chemical additive in pet food caused the death of American pets last spring.

Since then, poisonous ingredients have been found in Chinese exports of toys, toothpaste and fish, while the deaths of patients in Panama was blamed on improperly labelled Chinese chemicals that were mixed into cough syrup.

Mattel is considered a role model in the toy industry for how it operates in China.

China is concerned that fears about Chinese product safety could lead to trade protectionism and has pledged to step up health and safety monitoring. It has described the recent string of scares as “isolated”.

lThe Fisher-Price UK helpline can be contacted at 01628-500303 or email [e-mail].

The products that are affected are:

* Dora Say It Two Ways Assortment.

* Dora’s Talking House.

* Dora Talking Vamonos Van.

* Dora Pals.

* Dora Let’s Go Adventure.

* Dora’s Talking House Deluxe.

* Dora Mini Playset.

* Diego Talking Field Journal.

* Diego Talking Rescue 4x4.

* Diego Talking Gadget Belt.

* Lazy Town Music Transporter.

* Go Diego Go Rescue Adventure.

* Lazy Town Music Transporter.