Millions of toys recalled; contain 'date rape' drug
Pastor Dale Morgan
Millions of toys recalled; contain 'date rape' drug*
Two U.S. children went into comas after who swallowing Chinese-made Aqua
Dots found to contain a chemical that converts into 'date rape' drug
when ingested.
November 7 2007: 9:04 PM EST
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Millions of Chinese-made toys have been pulled from
shelves in North America and Australia after scientists found they
contain a chemical that converts into a powerful date rape drug when
ingested. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were
hospitalized after swallowing the beads.
With only seven weeks until Christmas, the recall is yet another blow to
the toy industry -- already bruised by a slew of recalls this past summer.
Child deaths have prompted FDA hearings on the safety of cold and cough
medicines. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen reports
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In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots, a highly
popular holiday toy distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys. They
are called Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year
at an industry function earlier this year.
It could not immediately be learned whether Aqua Dots beads are made in
the same factories as the Bindeez product. Both are sold by
Australia-based Moose Enterprises.
The toy beads are sold in general merchandise stores and over the
Internet for use in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into
designs and fused together when sprayed with water.
Scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested,
metabolizes into the so-called date rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate.
When eaten, the compound -- made from common and easily available
ingredients -- can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma
and death.
Naren Gunja from Australia's Poisons Information Center said the drug's
effect on children was "quite serious ... and potentially life-threatening."
The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on
Wednesday several hours after published reports about the recall in
Australia.
Fisher-Price recalls 155,000 toys for choking risk
The two U.S. children who swallowed Aqua Dot beads went into
nonresponsive comas, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said Wednesday
afternoon.
In Australia, the toys were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when
officials learned that a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were
hospitalized after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old toddler also was
being treated.
The news jolted the toy industry because Aqua Dots has been one of the
few bright stars of the toy selling season, which, along with overall
retailing, has gotten off to a sluggish start. The item, which had been
heavily advertised, had appeared on many toy experts' list of must-have
holiday toys, and toy sellers are now in the midst of canceling
advertising and scrambling to figure out how to replace it.
Chris Byrne, a New York-based toy consultant, noted that the incidents
could have been isolated, and Spin Master may be erring on the side of
caution.
"This is something that they could not have foreseen. This is an
extremely hot toy. ... It's a little scary," Byrne said.
In a statement, Toys "R" Us Inc., said that it issued on Tuesday a "stop
sale" on the entire Spin Master Aqua Dots product line in its North
American stores and on its Web site after it learned of the news. "We
understand that Spin Master and U.S. regulatory authorities are
investigating this product and we have asked Spin Master to fully
explain what it believes happened," said the toy seller in a statement.
Meanwhile, a separate recall was announced for 405,000 children's
products made in China, most of them toy cars, because of dangerous
levels of lead.
The recall includes about 380,000 Pull-Back Action Toy Cars imported by
Dollar General Merchandising Inc. of Goodlettsville, Tenn., and 7,500
Dragster and Funny Car toys imported by International Sourcing Ltd. of
Springfield, Mo.
Four of the recalled products were imported by Schylling Associates Inc.
of Rowley, Mass., including the items Duck Family Collectable Wind-Up
Toy, Dizzy Ducks Music Box, "Robot 2000" collectable tin robot and
Winnie-the-Pooh Spinning Top. The company recalled another 66,000
spinning tops Aug. 22.
Representatives from Schylling Associates Inc. were not immediately
available for comment.
Wednesday's recalls include about 7,200 "Big Red" Wagons imported by
Northern Tool & Equipment Co. of Burnsville, Minn. Totaling about
405,700, the recalled children's products all had excessive levels of
lead in their surface paint.
Although no illnesses connected to the toy car recall have been
reported, lead is toxic if ingested by young children. Children's
products found to have more than 0.06 percent lead accessible to users
are subject to a recall. Top of page