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Toy maker recalls Mexican-made toys as Chinese province threatens lawsuit

EL SEGUNDO – 11/08/07 – Already reeling from a tsunami of image-damaging product recalls, global toy-making giant Mattel Inc. has issued yet another one, this time for “safety concerns” over about 172,000 products manufactured in Mexico and sold in the US and the European Union (EU).

The recall involves 165,000 toys sold in the US, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), as well as 7,000 items distributed in Britain, 4,900 in Italy, 4,900 in Germany, and 394 in Austria.

According to officials at the EU’s executive arm in Brussels about 7,000 Mattel products have been withdrawn in Britain and Ireland, while 4,900 have been recalled in Italy, 4,900 in Germany and 394 in Austria because of small pieces that could detach from the toys and cause children to choke.

EU officials say this week’s announcement by Mattel came after 48 "incident" reports and one "accident” report in which a child required hospital care after choking on a small part.

"The products concerned are Laugh & Learn and Learning Kitchen Toys, which are part of the Fisher-Price range," the company said in a media statement.

The Mexican-made toys were sold between May and October.

Mattel issued two major recalls in August for lead-tainted toys and toys with small, powerful magnets that can cause intestinal perforations if swallowed.

Last month, the company issued another, smaller recall of lead-contaminated toys.

All of the 21 million previously recalled toys were manufactured in China due to excessive levels of lead paint and other unsafe components.

The latest recall comes as the government of Chinese province of Guangdong has said it is considering a libel suit accusing Mattel of harming the region's reputation.

Mattel issued a safety recall on more than 21 million Chinese-made toys, most of which were manufactured in Guangdong province, this summer, but later issued an apology saying that more than 85% of the toys recalled had design, not manufacturing, flaws.

"The incident has stained the reputation of Chinese toy manufacturers and made a large number of toy factories in Guangdong lose a great deal of money," said Chen Li Peng, director of the province's fair trade bureau, in an interview with the China Daily. 

"A simple apology cannot compensate for the losses," he told the newspaper.

Guangdong-based Lida Plastic Toy Co, a major Mattel supplier, is supporting the proposed lawsuit due to the large losses it incurred following the recall, while Chinese lawyers have said they expect "billions of dollars" in compensation, the paper said.

Chen declined to tell the newspaper when a lawsuit would be filed in a US court.

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