Mattel Recalls an Additional 800,000 Chinese-Made Toys

By Richard Seward

Published on September 05, 2007

This latest recall by Mattel includes 675,000 Barbie accessories, 90,000 pieces of the GeoTrax locomotive line, and approximately 8,900 It’s a Big Big World 6-in-1 Bongo Band toys. The recalled toys were sold between September 2006 and August of this year.

This is the third recall of Mattel toys in five weeks. The two previous recalls were also prompted by concerns over the use of lead paint as well as small magnets that posed a potential choking hazard in another toy line.

Mattel representatives stated that the toy company has completed an exhaustive testing program for the majority of its toys, with more than 50,000 hours spent investigating vendors and testing toys.

Mattel's chairman and chief executive officer, Robert Eckert, says that now only certified paint is being used on toys, adding that Mattel's plants and those of its subcontractors are being closely monitored, and that each toy is being tested before distribution.

The toy company has faced harsh criticism in recent weeks about whether it acted promptly enough in announcing its initial recalls.

Approximately 65 percent of Mattel's toys are currently produced in China, with nearly 50 percent of the manufacturing there being conducted in company-owned plants.

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