EU discusses safety issues with Mattel

EU discusses safety issues with Mattel The European Union’s Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva on Thursday met with Bryan Stockton, vice president of Mattel International, to discuss concerns over the safety of the California toy manufacturer's products.
   Mattel this summer made three major recalls of toys made in China that were found to contain excessive amounts of lead.
   “My message to Mattel was that they have a lot of ground to cover to rebuild trust in the toy industry,” Commissioner Kuneva said.
   “The clear legal responsibility is on producers to put only safe products on the market, and no one is going to take that responsibility off their shoulders. Supply chains are becoming longer and more complex, but it is the responsibility of the toy industry to perform according to the highest standards.
   “I underlined to Mattel that I will continue to be a vocal defender of open markets and open economies but never at the expense of safety. My message was very clear, we cannot afford to wait for something to go wrong. The challenge for Mattel and for the toy industry is to anticipate problems and weaknesses.”