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Recall Fell Short, Safety Board Says

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By MARCUS KABEL, The Associated Press

Published: October 31, 2007

The federal consumer-product watchdog agency said Tuesday that a unilateral recall of lead-tainted toy animals by Wal-Mart Stores lacked information that consumers need, including how many toys were sold, when they were sold and at what other retailers.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokeswoman Julie Vallese said the agency prefers that companies work with it to produce comprehensive recall announcements that give consumers all the information they need to react.

The nation's largest toy seller announced Oct. 19 that it was pulling sets of plastic toy animals made in China and offering a refund to shoppers. It said its own safety testing, stepped up after this year's string of toy recalls, found excessive lead levels in the material the toys are made of.

Wal-Mart said Tuesday that it always works with the CPSC and did so in this case by notifying the agency of the test results and decision to pull the product.

'Our testing revealed excessive levels of lead in these toy sets. We informed the supplier and the CPSC, and we felt we had to let our customers know what we'd found,' company spokeswoman Linda Blakely said.

Wal-Mart's Oct. 19 recall announcement did not say how many of the sets were sold, when they had been stocked in Wal-Mart stores or identify the manufacturer.

The retailer has declined to provide those details when asked by The Associated Press. A spokeswoman said she thought the toys were sold by other retailers but declined to provide their names.

The CPSC's Vallese said she was not criticizing Wal-Mart and that the agency has a good working relationship with the retailer.

But the agency wants recall announcements to contain all the information consumers need to respond, she said, including the number of items sold, when and where.

'All of this information is necessary for consumers to respond to announced recalls,' Vallese said.

'We are not big fans of when companies handle recall announcements independently of the agency. It can cause confusion and doesn't always provide consumers with the information they need,' Vallese said.

The CPSC's recall notices also specify whether a product poses an imminent hazard such as choking or, because it violates a law, excessive lead levels.

'Wal-Mart took an action independent of the agency, knowing that we prefer when the announcement of a recall includes all the information that makes it more comprehensive and less confusing,' Vallese said.

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