More than 20 percent of the toys made and then sold in China are
substandard, according to the country's top quality watchdog.
Some toys made by small factories are even potentially
dangerous, the General Administration of Quality Supervision,
Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a report.
The report was based on a nationwide investigation into 105
types of Chinese-made toys sold in the domestic market. The
investigation involved 53 plastic toys, 13 wooden toys, 29 dolls,
six paper and magic toys, as well as four shooting toys.
The watchdog said none of the four shooting toys were up to
standard because the safety features could easily be torn off and
the toys could still shoot. The toys could also shoot other
objects, such as pencils, without being modified.
Some other toys had similar problems, or contained small parts
that could be swallowed, or had sharp edges that could potentially
injure children, it added.
Media also reported over the weekend that industrial waste,
including dirty carpet fluff, paper and used instant-noodle
packaging, had been found stuffed inside toys made by factories in
north China's Hebei Province and sold at low prices nationwide.
"These stuffed toys are laced with bacteria and possibly even
viruses, which could cause rashes after even just short-term
exposure. They could even cause diseases over the long term," the
China Central Television report quoted doctors as saying.
There have been numerous reports of children being injured by
substandard toys. Official figures show that there are at least
10,000 such cases in the country every year.
China is the world's largest exporter of toys, sending more than
US$5 billion worth to the United States alone in 2005.
However, the US and European Union have both expressed concern
about the safety of certain made-in-China toys.
This month alone, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission
recalled about 200,000 pieces of Chinese-made children's jewelery
after high levels of lead were found in them, and the European
Union issued a warning about Chinese-made rattles after a child in
Ireland cut his mouth on a sharp edge.
But the AQSIQ made it clear that it did not examine toys
destined for export.
"Because of different safety standards, exported toys are
usually much better quality than those sold at home," Liang Mei,
executive vice-president of the China Toy Association, said in an
interview.
The AQSIQ last year said it would ban the sale of toys that
failed to pass a national compulsory safety standard starting next
month.
Recent AQSIQ inspections also found that some baby clothes
contained chemicals that could cause skin problems, and about 5
percent of baby milk powder tested was of poor quality.
Song Ping, the mother of a one-year-old daughter, said the
results were terrifying.
"I can only choose brand name toys and clothes. At least the
quality is guaranteed," she said.
(China Daily May 29, 2007)