More Chinese items recalled
NEW YORK -- Excessive amounts of lead paint on toys and other children's products led the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a recall of more than 300,000 Chinese-made items yesterday.
The recall includes about 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants address books and journals because of the paint on their metal spiral bindings.
The CPSC said the books, which were imported by privately held Martin Designs Inc., were sold nationwide between June 2006 and July 2007.
The latest round of recalls involving Chinese goods comes amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese exports following Mattel Inc.'s recall of millions of toys last week -- including 436,000 die-cast toy cars because the paint may have contained too much lead.
Chinese officials have been quick to say that the vast majority of China's goods meet quality standards despite concerns over the safety of its food, drugs, tires, and toothpaste exports.
Independent toy industry consultant Christopher Byrne said the latest recalls will further undermine consumer confidence in product safety in the short term, but said they ultimately show the system to keep toxic products out of the marketplace works. 