Another Chinese toy recall: Aquadots = date rape drug
Taking a little break from politics and the war for a moment to do some momblogging:
I bought Aqua Dots for my kids over the weekend. It’s this year’s “Floam”–advertised ubiquitously, arts-and-crafty, irresistible. What are they? They’re little beads that stick together when you spray them; you use them to make little trinkets, cute animals, etc. I wondered in passing what they might be made of, but didn’t give it much thought. Who would have guessed date rape drug chemicals:
More than four million Chinese-made toys sold in the U.S. as Aqua Dots are being recalled after reports surfaced that children swallowed beads containing a chemical found to mimic the effects of the so-called date-rape drug.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission said it has received two reports of children swallowing Aqua Dots and slipping into comas. Both children are now fine, the commission said. At least three children have been hospitalized in Australia, where the product is called Bindeez, after ingesting beads from the toy.
The incident deals a blow to the toy industry just as the Christmas shopping season is getting under way. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. listed the product as one of its “Top 12 Toys of Christmas.” Wal-Mart has instituted an “electronic stop” at its cash registers to prevent further Aqua Dots sales and directed employees to remove the toys from its shelves, according to a spokeswoman. Toys “R” Us said it has pulled the toy in the U.S., and the toy was removed from other major Web sites and stores, including Amazon.com and Target.
The recall highlights a common practice in Chinese factories: cutting costs by substituting ingredients. The toy’s manufacturer, Moose Enterprise, of Melbourne, Australia, yesterday said the problem had been traced to a Chinese factory it contracted that substituted a toxic chemical for a safe glue during manufacturing.
Moose declined to name the manufacturer but said the beads contained an adhesive solvent called “1,4 butylene glycol,” which can simulate the so-called date-rape drug gamma hydroxy butyrate when ingested, causing seizures, coma or death. The toy hasn’t been linked to any deaths.
You know, in California, there’s a toxic substance law passed by environmental zealots called Prop. 65 that requires labeling of practically every product that contains potentially carcinogenic or teratogenic substance, no matter the dose or exposure.
Given the spate of Chinese toy recalls, it might be far more helpful to parents to know which kids’ products are made in corner-cutting China’s factories. How about 20-point font warning labels with “MADE IN CHINA” and “THIS TOY MANUFACTURED BY THE MAKERS OF DATE RAPE DRUG MIMICKING AQUA DOTS?”
***
On a more positive note, Glenn Reynolds is toy-blogging, too. His nephew gives the Fisher-Price Smart Cycle a thumbs-up.
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- Hot Air » Blog Archive » Two more Chinese toy recalls
- Shits Weak » Blog Archive » Two more Chinese toy recalls
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and when will we start holding them accountable?
It takes a global village to feed me szechuan beef. OY!
bear.. too funny!! The other day I was on a business trip to Atlanta and had great indian food. When I went to the restroom, I saw that the kitchen was staffed with Latinos!
Outsourcing the outsourcers!
pg, it’ll be an opera. You have to lock all your cabinets. You’ll pull toys out of their mouths dozens of times. And when they start picking their noses, they’ll eat, well, sorry, anyone having lunch?
Forget the “toy companies” and just try and avoid buying ANY “Made in China” products. There will be some exceptions where one might still buy something, but minimizing our purchases WILL send a very STRONG signal to the “companies” that outsource to China. Cut the “company’s” profits and they look to change their supplier (especially if we tell them WHY - via their websites, etc.) If the “companies” don’t buy from the ChiCom suppliers then it cuts into their profits and maybe they look to clean up their act. Or not…
supersean - already do that. Any toy she gets is checked against places like ConsumerReports, Good Housekeeping and other places where recalls are. It’s not limited to a company because some companies make some products in one location and other products in another. But I do avoid specific product lines on the issue of safety - examples include EasyBake and just about all costume jewelry.
As a former toymaker, I would like to suggest that you look for your states Guild of Craftsmen. There may be still people making handmade toys with safety in mind.
We have a Rock’em Sock’em Robots in our office that is a constant reminder NOT to buy toys from China. You can play the dern thing all day long and not pop a head.
*remembering being a kid and his Rock’em Sock’em worked
Oh, it’s only going to get funnier.
ya, Soap. Cuz we used real fists.
PDColeman,
I would say that your if your argument is to boycott a toy that is made outside the USA to send a message to toy makers… to be effective boycott anything that is not made in the USA not just “Made in China”
Ditto Bear. A stick for a rifle and dirt clods for grenades, we could have taken Iraq then!
The bots belonged to the rich kids down the street. When we played, we had dreams that they we ours.
Navy brats didn’t get toys.
ss: No, I was very specific: If one wishes to boycott anything, focus on “Made in China”. If you want to boycott all products not “Made in USA” then go for it. I think that is pretty foolish, personally. I’ll stick with avoiding “Made in China” as much as I possibly can. China is where the next biggest threat (second to Islamic Jihad) is coming from - and it is not just economic…
Just ask Norman (we can buy the White House) Hsu.
AJ: Yeah, and let’s face it - we’re not out of the woods yet. The Manchurian Candidate is still running…
Boycott Chinese producers and bring them to their knees. They need us. Without American cash, the Chicoms lose control of their cities.
And it is also why I say go to the Olympics: force the Chicoms to lose control of their cities.
Loss of control can trigger government reforms there (such as using Chinese military units to form shell companies to do business with the US and spy their ass*s off.)
This is a war we don’t have to lose. Not by a long shot.
But it does require that we clean up Washington.
feebie~I have pictures of me in the kitchen as a toddler, hiding in the cupboards, chewing on Tupperware!
I’m having the hardest time trying to convince my dad not to buy the baby a TMX Elmo doll. Damn you, Good Morning America, for devoting so much time to it this morning!
Michelle, no deaths…yet. But here’s a story that ought to make your toes curl.
Swallowed toy horrifies family: `I thought he was going to die’
http://www.pbcommercial.com/articles/2007/11/08/ap-state-ar/d8spn2no1.txt
Australia & New Zealand -
[Post Chronicle] AUSTRALIA - Date Rape Drug Found On Australian Toys
“Five children in Australia and New Zealand have been hospitalized after eating Chinese-made toy beads found to contain the date rape drug GHB”
“Australia Tuesday recalled the Bindeez beads after two children in Sydney who ate the beads became drowsy or unconscious and had to be hospitalized”
My eight children get ONLY things Made in America or homemade now. We stay away from all things Chinese…but I would adopt a Chinese baby!
bear1909 - the best pizza in L.A. was once made by chinese owners. First time I ordered I called them because in the bag was an order of spaghetti and garlic bread too…nope, no mistake, they were just taking care of competitors down the street! They did.
For the children of family and friends I’ve found it is most welcome to give either cash, check or gift certificate to celebrate any special occasion. I could not live with knowing a toy, garment, or piece of furniture I’d given had harmed a little one. Earmark it for college. Most young parents are still paying off student loans themselves and its most appreciated to start a nest egg for their kids. They realize the spiraling escalation of tuition.
I check labels, look under the boxes of items that may say one thing on the product but on the box bottom says another country of origin. The only item I turn a blind eye are the giant black tiger prawns out of Viet Nam…..have to have them, addicted, use 1-3 4lb. bags a year. Someday, I’ll glow in the dark.
can I glow also? hehe
in other words link to the prawns please..
What about all the toys and items in thrift stores that arent pulled and people dont know any better and buy them???
and swap meets etc….
I’m so glad this came out now. My daughters, the youngest ones, really wanted these and I was planning on buying them for the two of them for Christmas. Whew. I don’t want to have to worry about them being faced with such a thing for a long time. Too bad I need to worry about something like that at all.
So, are the ChiComs fighting some sort of clandestine type of war with us lately or what? Lead, drugs…if they really wanted to guarantee that people in this country stopped buying things made their by their political prisoners, I am sure they could have thought of something else other than to destroy their reputation for goods.
Maybe we can finally end that trade gap with them over this and equal it out a bit. Nawwwwww…that would mean someone in Commerce was thinking out of the box and was actually doing his job and looking out for the good of the American people. Can’t have that now, can we?
It’s Happy Fun Ball!!!!!
I feel like supersean’s point is getting ignored. Yes, it’s fair to be weary of products made in China. But shouldn’t we be more angry with the actual toy companies that are allowing this to happen? They are the ones outsourcing their toy making and not employing the proper oversight to insure the toys are safe. They are the ones selling these toys to our children. Shouldn’t they be the ones taking the brunt of our anger?
The comments are justifiably full of anger with these Chinese manufacturers who seem to be cutting corners without a care. But the toy companies bear just as much of the responsibility. It is their toy and their name on the product. I feel the biggest message could be made by boycotting their products entirely, Chinese made or not.
Happy Fun Ball link in case people don’t understand the comment.
Ehh maybe I’m on the wrong foot here… but if a toy says for age’s 6 and up, shouldn’t a parent have broke the habit of sticking things in zee mouth? Or least read labels.
But I’m not surprised at all of this with China. The society’s of that Region put a differnt value on life than the west. Though I wonder how much of this is concern for the children, or politics on the Hill. After all look at the Schip bill, it played on the emotions of the Populance, could these events have received so much attention in an attempt to start an unofficial trade sanction on China? DC could never get the votes with the UN, but the American people decide what and who they buy from.
What concerns me is the fact the PRC is increasing trade elsewhere in hindsight of this. Still Drugs in toys is bad, more so with rape drugs. Think I read somewhere unsurprisingly that Teens were hoarding the stuff for said purpose, if I find the artical I’ll post it here. But thankfully a small number of tainted products recalled given all we recived. Besides the PRC doesn’t need to posion the children, just sponser a ceritian someone for president and let them finish the US.
Whats sad is if we do get goods elsewhere I doubt they will say USA again like they used too.
For the past 10 years, every time I’ve tried to tell people that Russia and China are enemies, everyone laughs at me saying “The Cold War is over” and how we must continue diplomatic relations with Beijing, and give them “Favored Nation” status…..
…..while they continue to poison us.
Apparently the Cold War isn’t over. I can only imagine what the ol’ Soviets have up their sleeves.
I have a feeling it isnt Borscht.
Yes, the dots are not supposed to be eaten, but that doesn’t make it okay to put a chemical in there that turns into the date rape drug if ingested. I mean, for crying out loud, kids are kids and will sometimes stick things in their mouth they shouldn’t.
I’d rather pay 3x what we are paying now for toys and keep the manufacture of them in the U.S. or in countries we haven’t had problems with in the past.
This is getting ridiculous
Kids will certainly put things in their mouths that don’t belong there.
One of the many issues that my 10 yo ‘aquired’ from her birth mom. Pica. She constantly has non food items in her mouth. From markers and paper to any type of plastic.. heck one day she chewed up her brother’s game boy ac adapter cord… while it was plugged in. She liked the buzz on her tongue. If she doesn’t end up a smoker I’ll be freaking amazed.
Heck ADULTS chew stuff they shouldn’t. Walk around an office and count chewed pencils and pen caps.
The reality is that these toys are unsafe for anyone at any age.
So PG is either a troll… or seriously not thinking this one through.
An interesting article: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/07/19/my_year_without_made_in_china/
To see what comes from China:
http://www.made-in-china.com/prod/catlist/
But the list of items recalled for being out and out dangerous or even deadly, even just this year, is long, and probably mostly forgotten by the public:
toothpaste
bracelets
tires
all sorts of faulty electrical items
baby toys
seafood and other fish
dogfood
furniture
etc., etc., etc.
Maybe we could move these industries to Mexico, hire the illegals from this country to work there, and kill two birds with one stone.
One thing is for sure: the manufacturers do not pass on their substantial savings to us, but we get crappy, unregulated goods in return.
My baby is getting nothing from China…
The more we read about stories of Chinese toys, the more life imitates art.
Remember Dan Ackroyd’s “Irwin Mainway” sketch with Candace Bergen on SNL back in the 70s? As a scheister toy peddler, he had such kid favorites as:
- “Johnny Switchblade: Adventure Punk”
- “Bag O’ Glass”
- “Bag O’ Nails”
- “Bag O’ Bugs”
- “Bag O’ Vipers”
- “Bag O’ Sulfuric Acid”
- “Teddy Chainsaw Bear”
Now we’ve got:
- “Leaded teeth”
- “Bits o’Lead Paint fun”
- “Aqua-rhohypnol dots”
When will we wake up and hold China to task. We’re already at war with them…and the casualties will be our kids if we don’t change our M.O.
And this is something I have been saying
for a long time. Stop buying China! I don’t want to invest my money into a Communist country that has no regard for it’s own people let alone ours.
I agree everyone involved should take resonsibility but believe it or not their are inspector’s for the toy companies but as soon as they leave goverment officials are being bribed by the manufactuer, their intertwined. How do you fix corruption in China if the government it’s self is involved? It really comes down to the consumer taking action.
After much thought at every incidence of recall This is my opinion and It’s probably going to resemble a Rosie wacko rant but I have put much thought into this theory so here goes.
We have had recall’s of Wheat, Ceral, Dog Food, Toy’s, More Toy’s and even more toys. The fact is that the Chinese do not have our well being in mind. This is a Communist country that represses it’s own people. They don’t care about your’s or anyone else’s kid’s. The poisining of the American public is beneficial to the Chinese (keep your friend’s close and your enemies even closer.) Wake up America we are the enemy, the Chinese are trying to hijack the American Economy by currency manipulation. They are testing the water’s of what they can get away with probing our systems for vunerabilies, they threaten to shoot nuclear weapon’s at us, they attempt to poison the food supply and last but not least they ship in lead and drugs for our kid’s to consume. This sound’s kinda like a war, well it is and many do not even realize their helping our enemies destroy us from with in.
rant over
IF YOU SUPPORT CHINA YOU SUPPORT COMMUNISM