Lead scare forces Fisher-Price to pull one million toys
by TERRI MEDINA East Aurora Editor

Fisher-Price announced a voluntary recall of more than one million character toys after it was discovered that the toys were treated with surface paints that could contain excessive levels of lead. Approximately 960,000 of those units were shipped to the United States.

The recall involves various figures and toys, including Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street and Sponge Bob characters that were manufactured between April 19 and July 6 and were sold alone or as part of sets.

According to Brenda Andolina, a representative of Fisher-Price in East Aurora, two-thirds of the inventory has already been contained in either the East Aurora warehouse or retailer warehouses, thus reducing the incidence of product retail.

"This is hugely embarrassing for Fisher-Price and Mattel," said David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price Friends. "We are extremely apologetic, and we promise to do what we can to make sure the consumer has a safe product. That has always been our standard."

The model names and product numbers for the recalled toys, which were manufactured in China, are all marked with "Fisher Price." The complete list is available by visiting the Web site www.service.mattel.com or by contacting Fisher-Price at (800) 916-4488. The toys also have a date code between 109-7LF and 187-7LF marked on the product.

Consumers are asked to discontinue use of all products on the recall list.

Allmark said the initial discovery was made by a European retailer, and there was a follow up in the United States and with the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

"We began working with the CPSC, and quickly identified the problem," said Allmark. "We worked toward a speedy remedy and began pulling products and informing people right away."

While no health-related incidents involving the paint have been reported, Mattel, the parent company of Fisher-Price, has launched a full investigation into the matter.

For questions and concerns, call the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at (800) 638-2772 or visit www.cpsc.gov.

e-mail: tmedina@beenews.com