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Tougher safety measures in place for imported toys

The Ministry of Economic Affairs' Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection (BSMI) has implemented more stringent safety measures in light of recalls in the US and around the rest of the world of toys made in China, bureau officials said yesterday.

The stricter measures were launched recently after the Consumer Product Safety Commission in the US recalled several Chinese-made toy products over concerns that paint used on them contained lead, BSMI officials said.

The toy products recalled included little wrestlers, game mats known as "Tic tac turtle toss mats," chess boards and cardboard games, the officials said.

They said the new measures were targeted at all imported toys and that the bureau would screen all imported products, batch by batch, for a period of six months to find out whether any toxic Chinese-made toys were being marketed in this country.

Lead paint is toxic and if ingested by young children can cause adverse effects to the body's neural system or trigger acute lead poisoning.

BSMI officials called on consumers to inform the bureau if they find any toys purchased on the domestic market that are cause for suspicion.

Consumers are also urged to buy only toys and other products that carry quality inspection certificates, since all toys, imported or domestically made, should pass quality inspections before they are allowed to be sold, the officials said.

China, the world's largest toy manufacturer, exported 22 billion toys in 2006, about 60 percent of the world's total.

Millions of Chinese-made toys, which were found to be potentially hazardous, have been recalled worldwide during the past year.
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