Consumer product safety commission keeps list of recalled
toys
In the rush to buy last minute Christmas gifts, no parent wants
to give their child a dangerous toy. That is exactly what some
consumer advocates say is happening.
Consumer product safety commission keeps list of recalled toys
In the rush to buy last minute Christmas gifts, no parent wants to give their child a dangerous toy. That is exactly what some consumer advocates say is happening.
Hollister resident Andrea Bejines checks the Internet regularly to make sure that the gifts her four-month-old daughter receives are not on a recall list.
“Now that I have a little one, I am very worried about the toys I will be buying her,” Bejines said, “because babies love to put things in their mouth.”
In August, Dora the Explorer figurines and other toys were removed from the shelves at Target in Hollister because of a recall from Fisher-Price that involved 10.5 million toys. The issues were lead-based paint and unsafe magnets.
There is a law regarding acceptable levels of lead in paint on children’s toys, Weintraub said. There are no federal laws that limit the amount of lead embedded in children’s jewelry or plastic toys, said Rachel Weintraub, director of product safety and senior counsel for the Consumer Federation of America, a consumer group.
Toys are posing risks to consumers that they should not be, Weintraub said.
Two bills in congress, H.R. 4040, and H.R. 3691, would help keep children from unsafe toys, Weintraub said. They deal with the issue in different ways, but both would limit the amount of lead in children’s products, she said. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a federal agency, is responsible for protecting consumers from unsafe products. They do not have the authority to test toys before they enter the marketplace and toy manufacturers do not have to test their toys for safety, Weintraub said.
The CPSC is also under-funded, she said. Adjusted for inflation, their budget is about half of what it was when it began, she said.
“We need a more robust system,” Weintraub said, “not one that is becoming leaner and leaner.”
H.R. 4040 and H.R. 3691 are both currently in the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
So far this month, there were six toy recalls, including wooden toys and a plastic military vehicle by Soldier Bear Toys and the Speed Racer Pull Back and Go car sold at Dollar Tree Stores nationwide between March 2007 through October 2007. To check the toy recall list, go to the Consumer Product Safety Commission Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
