NEW YORK - Mattel Inc., which has recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys this year, asked consumers to stop using 196,000 kitchen toys made in Mexico because small pieces may pose a choking hazard to children.
The Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn Learning Kitchen Toys were sold worldwide from May through October for about $70 each, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said yesterday. There have been 48 reports of parts separating from the toys, including children gagging or choking on them.
Mattel, the world's largest toymaker, has issued several recalls this year, primarily because the products contained excessive lead paint or had loose magnets that might detach and be swallowed. The recalls have occurred as concern over imported items has mounted, particularly from China, which produces four-fifths of the toys sold in the United States.
"This is really unfortunate timing," said Bob Goldsborough, who helps manage $14.3 billion, including more than 2 million Mattel shares, at Ariel Capital Management LLC in Chicago. "Mattel appears to have moved swiftly on the recall, but it's more bad news from a product-quality standpoint."
Mattel recalled 155,000 of the kitchen sets, which contain a refrigerator and sink, in the United States, because pieces of the faucet and clock hands can fall off, the CPSC said.
About 196,000 of the items were recalled worldwide, Fisher-Price said.
Mattel slipped 1 cent to $21.25 in New York Stock Exchange trading. The shares declined 6.2 percent this year.
