BFAD to test Dora, Elmo and Big Bird toys for lead content

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has ordered the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to test Fisher-Price toys made in China for high lead content. QTV 11’s Balitanghali reported on Saturday that the toy brands marketed under Fisher-Price such as Big Bird, Elmo and Dora: The Explorer — manufactured from April 19 to July 6, 2007 — are now being recalled due to suspicions that these are laden with toxic chemicals. Toys ‘R Us, one of the toy stores in the country selling the said products, had started taking the toys out of their shelves after receiving a recall order on Thursday from Mattel Inc, the parent company of Fisher-Price. The local toy store returned the products included in the recall list to Mattel’s sole distributor in the country. “It’s a global issue so everybody is more careful. The end in view here is consumers are protected any way. So in the business, of course, it is a little sad to be hearing these things but at least China will probably put better sanctions or better their quality," Rosabel Tejam, Toys ‘R Us AVP brand management, said. She, however, clarified that not all Fisher-Price products are being recalled. She said the stuffed versions of Dora doll and Sesame Street characters are still deemed safe. The Department of Health (DOH), on the other hand, is now studying if there is a need to change the guidelines for manufacturing toys. Mattel said on Friday it was recalling in some Asian countries plastic preschool toys found to have excessive amounts of lead in their paint. The action is part of a worldwide recall announced Wednesday by Mattel subsidiary Fisher-Price that involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August. Out of the global recall of 83 types of toys based on the popular characters Big Bird, Elmo and Dora, among others, six models have been recalled in the Philippines, four in Singapore, three in Malaysia and one in Indonesia, said Mattel Southeast Asia Marketing Manager Cheok Ching Won in Kuala Lumpur. - GMANews.TV