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Mattel recalls 155,000 Mexican-made toys
2007-11-06
Mattel Inc (MAT.N), the world's largest toymaker, has recalled 155,000 of its products made in Mexico over safety concerns, an official at the company told Reuters on Tuesday. An official at the European Union's executive arm later confirmed that around 17,000 Mattel items had been recalled in Europe due to concerns that small pieces could detach from the toys and cause children to choke. Around 7,000 products have been withdrawn in Britain and Ireland, while 4,900 have been recalled in Italy, 4,900 in Germany and 394 in Austria. "The products concerned are Laugh & Learn and Learning Kitchen Toys, which are part of the Fisher-Price range," the Mattel official said. Millions of Chinese-made toys, including some 21 million produced by Mattel, have been recalled worldwide in the last four months due to excessive levels of lead paint and other unsafe components. Tuesday's announcement came just a day after the chief executives of major toy companies including Mattel, Hasbro (HAS.N) and Hornby (HRN.L) met the European Union's consumer chief to discuss the consequences of the widespread recalls. "My message to industry is very clear -- they are going to have to significantly raise their game," EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva told Reuters after the latest recall announcement by Mattel. "This is not the time for 'business as usual'. They risk, if they do not take action, to lose the trust of Europe's consumers. That trust has been badly shaken in recent months." "RECALLS SHOULD BOOST CONFIDENCE" However, in an interview with Reuters, Bryan Ellis, chairman of Toy Industries Europe, said the toy recalls should reinforce consumer confidence. "This latest recall is unfortunate, but it shows that our systems are working and we are checking at every stage," Ellis said. According to EU officials, Tuesday's announcement by Mattel came after 48 "incident" reports and one "accident report" in which a child required hospital care after choking on a small part. "This is terrible, but this also highlights the need for parents and people in general to make sure they heed the age warnings on products and only give toys which are appropriate to the child's age," Ellis said. Authorities in Europe and the United States are carrying out a root-and-branch review of their toy safety regulations in light of the huge number of recalls. The EU's Kuneva will travel to Washington on Thursday with Enterprise Commissioner Guenter Verheugen to discuss the issue with their U.S. counterparts. The EU is due to make new toy safety proposals in January, but some EU and U.S. lawmakers have called for a ban on products made in China until the situation improves. Kuneva has threatened such a ban if a report to be submitted by the Chinese authorities next week fails to meet her concerns. Mattel's shares are hovering near a 52-week low and by 1432 GMT on Tuesday were up 0.66 percent at $21.40. However, analysts told the Barron's financial newspaper on Sunday that they expected the stock to rebound as parents and investors regained confidence after the recalls. (editing by Dale Hudson/Elizabeth Fullerton)
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