Mattel toy recall - magnet and lead paint safety risk

15/08/2007

The toy-making firm Mattel have recalled 18 million Chinese toys worldwide on the 14.08.07 - including Barbie dolls and Batman figures in the UK and Europe - that contain magnets or lead paint that can harm children who swallow them.

The new recall - confirmed at a press conference - comes after Mattel recalled 1.5 million Fisher-Price products, including Sesame Street dolls, earlier this month.

The recall involves 1.9 million magnetic toys sold in the UK between 1 January 2002 and 31 January 2007 and a further 49,000 "Sarge" toy cars from the Disney film Cars, sold in the UK and Ireland from May until August. The action was announced after it emerged that at least one child in the US has died and 19 others have needed surgery after swallowing magnets used in the toys.

It is the latest in a series of recalls in the toy industry.

Last November, Polly Pocket dolls were recalled after several injuries had been reported. In March 2006, another toy company, Mega Brands, recalled 3.8 million Magnetix magnetic building sets after one child died and four others were seriously injured after swallowing the tiny magnets in them.

Mattel's recalls were overseen by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which reported that in the previous recall of Polly Pockets play sets, three children had been injured by swallowing more than one magnet. The lead-painted toys were recalled because lead is toxic if ingested by young children.

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