Toy Recall is More than a Game of ‘Sorry'

Press Release

Toy Recall is More than a Game of ‘Sorry'

DeLauro Urges President to Address Issue Tomorrow with President Hu

Washington , D.C. - Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (Conn.-3) made the following comments regarding the announcement from Mattel of another toy recall due to contamination with lead paint. The nearly three quarters of a million toys - over half a million of which have been sold in the U.S. - include Barbie accessories and Geo Trax Locomotive toys that have been on the market for almost a year. This recall follows the June recall of 1.5 million Thomas & Friends toy trains and two earlier recalls of Mattel products that total nearly 2 million toys, all of which were also contaminated with lead-based paint.

"When President Bush meets with President Hu Jintao of China on Thursday, he has an obligation to the American people to use this opportunity to address the recent problems involving imported products from China , and discuss how China can strengthen its product safety regulations not only for toys, but for food and food ingredients as well."

DeLauro wrote in August to both President Bush nd Consumer Product Safety Commission Acting Chairwoman Nancy Nord urging them to take urgent action to implement a response to the repeated recalls. Reflecting heightened consumer concerns, DeLauro is reaching out to both, placing calls to the President's Chief of Staff, Joshua Bolten, and Chairwoman Nord.

"The dangers lead pose to our children are very clear, so I am increasingly troubled that these endless recalls of toys contaminated with lead paint are not being taken seriously.

"This Administration needs to take immediate steps to eliminate the threat of harmful products reaching our store shelves, including outlining how to identify harmful products before they reach the marketplace and test children who may have been exposed to contaminated toys."

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