U.S. officials pull Chinese-made toys with 'date rape' drug

[onehandle]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON -- 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.

The recall is yet another blow to the toy industry -- already bruised by a slew of recalls during the summer.

In the United States, the toy goes by the name Aqua Dots, a highly popular holiday toy distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master Toys. It is called Bindeez in Australia, where it was named toy of the year at an industry function earlier this year.

Moose Enterprises said Bindeez and Aqua Dots were made at the same factory in Shenzhen in China's southern Guangdong province.

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-recall8nov08,1,7632403.story

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Ban Chinese Imports! What the Hell is it going to take?

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

1. Ladies, be on the look out for Aqua Dots in your drinks...

F***ed up times in which we live. MKJ

[underpants]

21. Yeah this is kind of a free advertisement isn't it?

But then there is the WOW factor. Just WOW.

[OneBlueSky]

2. just when you thought you'd heard it all . . . n/t

.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. Here's my dilemna. With the birth of a grandson last January

I am buying baby toys for the first time in many years. How in the hell is anyone supposed to know which toys are safe and which ones are not? Most of the brands that I looked for and trusted for safety when my kids were young have been gobbled up in corporate mergers and buyouts and are now being made overseas. Are all toys marked with the country where they are manufactured? Is there a database or list of toys or brands that have been proven to be safe? Is there a website where you can check on the safety of toys that he already has? I'm telling you, I'm about ready to start making my own toys for him. They might not have all the bells and whistles, but at least I'd know where they were made and what he was ingesting when he chewed on them.

[Raine]

10. If I was going to buy toys for

a child I would get them at local craft fairs, farmer's market etc. I've seen toys at craft fairs and they are made by the people exhibiting them. They are usually wooden toys but for a real little one you can also get stuff toys at craft fairs too. No way would I ever buy anything mass produced, anyway not till they clean up their act!

[Heywood J]

17. Yeah, there are still places where the toys are hand-crafted.

They can be found on the net. But you can also look for people whose kids are no longer of that age - i.e. whose toys are old enough not to have been made in China.

[Beerboy]

11. Not just toys either, a lot of us would like

to know where the ingredients/components of the stuff we buy comes from despite the product's country-of-origin label. And the stores aren't helping either in how they display merchandise; I'm bringing a digital camera to prove my case next time I complain to Target. I had to complain after spending 1/2 hour trying to find a set of cookware not made in Fascist China, and on the bottom shelf, there was a box advertized as made in Italy. I thought myself a smart shopper until I got home and emptied the box, only to find it was made in Fascist China by slaves @ gunpoint so that soul-less deceptive Western corporations can "earn" a few pennies on the Dow Jones.
Needless to say, I washed all the pots and pans and lids twice (in dishwasing soap that says it's made in the USA, but who knows anymore?) before cooking some grub that undoubtedly is tainted by poison ingredients from fucking Fascist China.
You raise a question so many are trying to find an answer to: how do we find a database of the worst offenders buying their poison ingredients/shoddy-dangerous components from China's slave-masters?

[HeeBGBz]

13. I'm going to make all my grandchildren sock monkeys this year

Whether they like it or not.

[Critters2]

35. I had a sock monkey...and I loved it!

My grandma made it.




I carried it around until it fell apart. Then she made me a stuffed dog.

[HeeBGBz]

37. I had one my grandma made

Had it so long I had his arms and legs stretched out a mile. He was my favorite.

[lakeguy]

16. buy locally made toys

sorry i dont have any info...but my friend buys wood toys (or makes them) for his kids ages ranging from newly born to 5 years. maybe they get a sliver once in a while but certainly no date rape drugs or lead involved.

[qanda]

22. Buy him books and let him make his own toys

My kids always enjoyed playing with boxes, pots and pans, and stuff just sitting around the house. Take the money you'll save and put it towards a trip to a nice place where you can make memories with your grandson. Those memories will last longer than any cheap, possibly dangerous, toy you will ever buy him.

[Beaverhausen]

24. I just googled "Made in the USA toys"

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGIH_enUS242US243&q=made+in+the+usa+toys

[Arkansas Granny]

29. Thanks for the link. I'll definitely be checking them out.

[Countdown_3_2_1]

38. Thank you.

for posting the link.

[krabigirl]

25. There are some great online natural toy retailers

I also have a baby girl who was born in January, and although I am not getting her that many gifts, what I am getting are wooden blocks, toys, and musical instruments that are mostly made in the USA, if not Europe.

Here are some companies to try. I don't have all of the URLS, so you can google them if you want.

TinyBirdOrganics.com
NorthStarToys.com
The Magic Cabin
plantoys.com (made in Thailand)
Oompa Toys (most made in germany, although some still made in China, so make sure you read the descriptions.)

[Kittycat]

27. I'd like to add some more stores & suggestions for toys shopping...

First, I'd like to say, check out Etsy & Hyena Cart for toys made by WAHMs & independent designers - there are many cute things to pick from. I myself have purchased several things and have been beyond happy with the quality. If I could afford it, everything my boys wear and play with would be handmade by local artisans.

I do understand that this isn't always an option for everyone though. Another site to check out is http://www.teenibanini.com (enter DU10 at checkout for 10% off). We've worked hard to find products that are child friendly. In addition, we require letters from manufacturers to explain procedures and safe-guards for anything toys coming from asia or other manufacturing-heavy countries where problems seem to be arising out of.

[acmavm]

28. My first 'toys' were cloth books. I had them until I was around

7 or 8. When they got lost I almost died.

My mom says that's why I read at least one book a week.

[Arkansas Granny]

30. I had a lot of cloth books for my kids (now in their 30's & 40's).

When they pages got limp I would wash, starch and iron them. They lasted forever.

[Tyler Durden]

4. Next, the Chinese toys just EXPLODE and rain radioactive debris all over the room.

Why go "half way?"

[Beerboy]

12. I think the military has first dibs!

:7

[tomreedtoon]

5. Ladies, if the guy asks you to kiss his plastic Big Bird...

...you might want to be suspicious. Things are pretty bad when the newspapers are writing Bill Maher's routines for him (not that he has anyone to write them for him now).

Are they now selling Fisher-Price toys in the porn shops next to the imitation Spanish Fly?

[Beerboy]

6. Geez! I thought they just had this sprayer

@ the end of the production line that just sprayed everything w/ a fine lead powder, now it's all new and improved! Now coated with sweet rape drugs! I can't wait for asbestos treats for the kitties!:party:

[soothsayer]

7. Oh, so that's why I woke up with a sore [insert body part] after having Aqua Dots shooters.

[Bonobo]

9. Cheerios spewed out of my mouth! LOL!

[karlrschneider]

8. Needs a warning on the box: "Caution, may lead to play-date rape"

:eyes:

[Beerboy]

14. If the dosage for ages 4-8 is listed, they're in the clear!

After all, what's bad for Play-Skool LLC., is bad for China!

[erpowers]

15. Time To Stop Trading With China

I contend that it is time for America to stop trading with China. Too many toys have had to be recalled because of the things Chinese manufacturers are using to make the toys. In addition, some of China's other actions is also reason to stop trading with them.

[Beerboy]

18. Stopping trade w/ Fascist China is as realistic as

cutting off trade with w/ Saudi Arabia. It's not even necessarily desirable that trade w/ unfriendly regimes be curtailed entirely, but I think it's the least we could ask that all of the agencies of a GOP-maladministered government we all pay for should do their jobs. Then again, maybe they're doing just as policy guidelines allow, straight from the top.
I agree w/ erpowers 110%, and we can do it ourselves, one shopper @ a time. Check carefully where that box you're going to checkout comes from. We still need a way more definitive database than just that, though...

[Heywood J]

19. I'm starting to think that's the way to go.

I don't think there's really any way to rein in the Chinese at this point, short of a total import ban. There are just too many firms showing up that make contaminated product. If one gets caught, they just change their name and continue on their merry way. I don't want to buy things made by child or political-prisoner labor.

Too many contaminants in the product, too much shitty product in the landfill after three months or a year. How many dumps are full of cheap Chinese crap, leaching their lead or PCBs into the ground?

[Beerboy]

20. I didn't even consider the point about disposing of the packaging

until you mentioned it. Holy shit, if the products being dumped are poisonous/dangerous (but nominally fit for consumption w/ USA gov't approval), can you begin to imagine how lax the standards, if any, for the packaging?
Your point is @ least as important, if not more so, than the particular piece of shoddy crap/poison being sold!:o

[ozu]

23. Seriously

Seriously, everything that goes on in that country is one giant train wreck.

-What shall we coat our new easily swallow-able children’s toy for optimum safety?
-Ummm… date rape drug?
-Right. That’ll work.

[Beerboy]

26. How do you know?

Fascist China is an extremely efficient police state whose administrators know everything about their slaves.
It's not a train-wreck as in Bushco's America.

[tom_paine]

31. Imperial Amerika has no industry to replace Chinese products with.

Our Rulers have made some very deliberate decisions that have gotten us here.

The Bushies, and probably the Democrats will NEVER ban Cinese products. Noth economies would come to a screeching halt, although I suspect Amerika would be hurt more, sincethe Chinese are our creditors.

[dysfunctional press]

34. not even any factories to get the process rolling.

a lot of the companies were shipped off- lock, stock and lightbulbs to china. many of the buildings that do remain are empty shells.

[Quantess]

32. Here's rec #5.

[hogwyld]

33. Just buy a big box

Seems like the kids love to play in those the most.

[Gin]

36. I am giving money to my grandkids...paper money is still made in the

USA Inc. isn't it?