More recalls of Chinese-made toys announced

More recalls of Chinese-made toys announced The toy industry continues to get battered by news of product recalls just as the Christmas shopping season kicks in.
   The latest reports dampen hopes that revelations about unsafe products earlier this year were behind the industry.
   The Consumer Product Safety Commission last week announced that several firms were recalling children’s products made in China. Several recalls involved lead paint in the products.
   Dollar General said it was recalling 51,000 children’s fashion sunglasses and 380,000 Pull-Back Action toy cars manufactured in China due to lead paint concerns. The importer of record for the sunglasses is Dolgencorp Inc., Goodlettsville, Tenn.
   New York-based Marvel Toys recalled 175,000 Curious George dolls also for concerns about exposure to potentially excessive levels of lead paint.
   And Schylling Associates Inc., Rowley, Mass, sought the return of 7,400 units of its collectible robots, Duck Family Collectable Wind Up Toy and Dizzy Ducks Music Box. Another 3,600 Winnie-the-Pooh Spinning Tops were recalled, following the recall of 66,000 spinning tops in August.
   Importer Bassetbaby of Bassett, Va., recalled 8,900 convertible cribs because bolts can come loose and pose an entrapment or strangulation danger. The manufacturer is Goodbaby Child Products Co. Ltd. of China.
   The biggest blow, however, was Wednesday’s recall of a hot new toy called Aqua Dots. More than 4.2 million units have been sold by Toronto-based Spin Master.
   The CSCP said it received two reports over the past several days of children swallowing Aqua Dots.
   A 20-month-old child swallowed several dozen beads. He became dizzy and vomited several times before slipping into a comatose state for a period of time, was hospitalized, and has since fully recovered. A second child also vomited and slipped into a comatose state and was hospitalized for five days. The problem first surfaced in Australia, where three children were hospitalized.
   The problem? The chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate.
   Chinese officials suspended export of Aqua Dots, the Xinhau news agency reported Saturday.