CHINA: Country's toy association says unaffected by toy recalls
- 00:00:31
- ITN Source
CHINA: Country's toy association says unaffected by toy recalls
A group representing over 1,500 toy-making factories in China says orders coming from other countries are not affected by the recent toy recalls. A Chinese toy manufacturers' group said on Friday (August 17) that they were not worried about foreign brand companies shifting orders after recent toy recalls. About 1.5 million pre-school toys made by a Foshan-based contract manufacturer for Mattel were recalled across the globe by the U.S. company last week. The recalled toys included popular pre-school characters such as Elmo and Big Bird and dozens of other items. The case was the latest in a deluge of product safety scares that have tainted the "made-in-China" brand. "So far, there is no impact on toy orders because we have received all of them in the first half of this year. But regarding whether our products can enter other countries when they arrive at ports, if people in charge of quality control are influenced by media, we are still not clear," Liang Mei, Executive President of China Toy Association, said at a news conference. This group has over 1,500 toy making factories as its members all over China. Liang criticised the way media handled the toy recalls, calling it "exaggerated" and placed the ultimate responsibility of quality control on the companies behind the brand. China has been struggling to convince the world its products are safe after a series of scandals over a string of products from tainted pet food and drugs to tyres, toys and toothpaste. Another toy recall, that took place on August 14, involves 18.2 million magnetic toys globally, including 9.5 million in the United States, with magnets or magnetic parts that can be dislodged.
ITN Source | August 17, 2007
