China Defends Quality of Products

Wed Oct 17, 2007 4:24 AM EDT

world-news, china, products, tainted, mattel, lead-paint, consumer-safety-recall

BEIJING — China is enforcing strict standards for its exports and will continue to work to regain consumer confidence in its products a top quality official said Wednesday.

Li Changjiang, head of China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, said officials have taken substantial measures to ensure that goods are made by certified manufacturers with qualified materials.

There will be checks at various stages of production, Li said, and authorities will also make it easier for exporters with good records to quickly pass customs inspections — all part of a four-month Cabinet-level safety campaign launched in August.

The country's exports have come under intense scrutiny in recent months because a number of potentially deadly chemicals have been found in goods ranging from toothpaste to toys and seafood. The international outrage gathered speed in March after a tainted pet food ingredient made in China was blamed for causing the deaths of cats and dogs in North America.

Li said Beijing and Washington have been in close contact and have sent delegations to discuss the quality issue.

"This month I will send my deputy to talk with officials with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ... on signing a memorandum on food safety," Li said. "I believe both parties have adopted active measures."

He also praised an apology by toy giant Mattel Inc., which recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys worldwide this summer. The products pulled off shelves included Barbie doll accessories and toy cars because of concerns about lead paint or tiny magnets that could be swallowed.

While hundreds of thousands of the toys were decorated with lead paint, Mattel also acknowledged design flaws and apologized.

"We think this is a practical and responsible attitude," Li said. "We do not fear problems. When there is problem, we should investigate it."

Li said that 87 percent of Mattel's recalled toys had problems with design.

"But of course, some of the recalled toys have excessive lead. Chinese companies should improve their work," he said, adding that inspections of lead paint should be strengthened to meet the standards of the U.S. and other countries.

China is the world's largest toy manufacturer, exporting 22 billion toys last year, about 60 percent of the world's total.

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1.1

{"commentId":1105761,"authorDomain":"bobneve1"}

Wizeguy

Mr. Bush sold out to the Chinese. The products coming out of China are cheap knockoffs of everything and anything they can think of. Corporations scramble to find a country that can make it it cheaper and not necessarily better. The products we use every day used to made by Americans in American factories. Those workers bought houses, cars, washing machines. Big biz said they had to compete so instead of making it here they import it. The good paying factory jobs that built this nation are gone as Ross Perot said "it's a big sucking noise". I picked up a roll of Scotch Tape the other day, thank god still made in USA by 3M.

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2 votes

#1 - Wed Oct 17, 2007 5:59 AM EDT

{"commentId":1105900,"authorDomain":"QACoach"}

QACoach

You're on the right track, Wizeguy. However, the motivator for companies looking to move offshore is that consumers do not want quality goods they want cheap goods. If you don't believe me, look at the profits at Walmart/Sams/Costco, etc. People vote at these places with their dollars saying, "we don't care where it's made, how long it lasts or what effect it has on the US worker! We only care that it is 49 cents cheaper than the same object at our local, home-owned hardware store."

When is the last time you heard someone say, "No, I don't want the cheapest one; I want the 'Made in the USA' version."? And maybe even made in the USA is not the issue. Maybe it's just an overall disregard for quality vs price.

In my opinion, and if it's not already too late, consumers need to start making their purchasing decisions - even at the "Scotch" tape level - by saying that, "I want a quality version. I want a 'Made in the USA' product. If you don't have such a product at your store, I'll go elsewhere to find one." Of course, that does mean we will have to pay more because we will be supporting our neighbors who now have a job again at the local factory that reopened to meet demand.

All of my diatribe above presumes that US industry still a) exists and b) cares about making a quality product. Again, however, consumers can vote with their dollars. We hold the ultimate power of capitalism in our wallets.

{"commentId":1105900,"threadId":"163088","contentId":"1030265","authorDomain":"QACoach"}

1 vote

#1.1 - Wed Oct 17, 2007 7:56 AM EDT

{"commentId":1105930,"authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}

Pamela Drew

I agree the customers flock to the cheap prices but that is from a downward pressure on wages and decreasing purchasing power of the bulk of lower income population, created then served it in a vicious cycle.

{"commentId":1105930,"threadId":"163088","contentId":"1030265","authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}

1 vote

#1.2 - Wed Oct 17, 2007 8:12 AM EDT

{"commentId":1105765,"authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}

Pamela Drew

One...bibs.....

Tests by two firms show elevated lead levels in bibs sold at Toys 'R' Us, but retailer, Feds have not recalled item.
August 15 2007: 9:12 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Certain vinyl baby bibs sold at Toys "R" Us stores appear to be contaminated with lead, but this latest Chinese-made product to raise safety concerns is not being recalled.

Tests conducted on the bibs for the public interest group Center for Environmental Health (CEH) as well as tests conducted separately by the New York Times showed lead as high as three times the level allowed in paint in the bibs.

Two....toddler toys...

Toys 'R' Us commits to more safety checks
Toy retailer says it is now testing every product on its shelves following string of major recalls by Mattel, other toymakers.
By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writer
September 10 2007: 2:50 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toys "R" Us on Monday said the company has initiated safety checks of all products on its shelves following the recent string of major toy recalls by Mattel and other toymakers.

Toys "R" Us spokeswoman Kathleen Waugh told CNNMoney.com that the new 'spot' checks of "thousands of toys" is already underway.

Three...crayons....

Toys "R" Us recalls crayon boxes for lead paint
Toyseller says ink on wood box packaging for crayons, paints and pencils contains lead.
By Parija B. Kavilanz, CNNMoney.com senior writer
August 30 2007: 10:23 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Toys "R" Us and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Thursday recalled 27,000 crayon and paint box sets because the printed ink on the outer packaging of the wood cases contains lead.

Moreover, the CPSC said some of the black watercolor paint in the set contains excessive levels of lead, which violates the federal lead paint standard.

Four...war play....note the date...

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2007
Release #07-127

Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 869-7787
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Toys "R" Us Recalls "Elite Operations" Toy Sets Due to Lead and Laceration Hazards
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: "Elite Operations" Toy Sets

Units: About 128,700

Importer/Retailer: Toys "R" Us Inc., of Wayne, N.J.

Manufacturer: Toy Century Industrial Company Ltd., of Hong Kong

Hazard: These toys contain high levels of lead in the paint, which is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects. Also, the toys have sharp points, posing a laceration hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

Description: This recall involves three styles of "Elite Operations" brand toy sets. The military-style play sets contain light and sound vehicles, action figures and accessories. Models included in this recall are: Super Rigs Transport Vehicle (Item # 087286), Command Patrol Center (Item # 920625) and Troop Carrier (Item # 773967). The item numbers are located on the back of the packaging above the barcode. Toy sets sold prior to January 2006 are not included in this recall. No other "Elite Operations" brand toys are affected by this recall.

Sold at: Toys "R" Us stores nationwide and toysrus.com from January 2006 through early February 2007 for between $15 and $30.

Manufactured in: China

Mothers Call on Private Equity Owners of Toys 'R' Us to Adopt Code of Conduct to Improve Product Safety - Behind the Buyouts

This isn't an event it is a way of doing business, the new American way and fittingly owned by a Presidential candidate whose ownership and responsibility for the toxic toys is never part of the mud or charges, when you are among thieves they all have their own code of honor.

Kim Chipman Wed Jul 18, 4:27 PM ET

July 18 (Bloomberg) -- Buyouts are generating millions of dollars in profits for private-equity firms such as Bain Capital LLC while rank-and-file workers are left with low wages and no health-care coverage or pensions, the Service Employees International Union said.

To emphasize its point, the union took reporters on a tour of New York's Times Square today, where it said private-equity firms have bought or sold more than 50 businesses, including Burger King Holdings Inc., Duane Reade Inc. drug stores, Dunkin' Brands Inc.'s Dunkin' Donuts stores and AMC Entertainment Inc. movie theaters, worth more than $106 billion.

``In Times Square is the flagship Toys 'R' Us store, which was purchased by Bain,'' SEIU President Andrew Stern said in an interview today. ``They took $75 million in transaction fees, $15 million in management fees and laid off 3,000 workers,'' he said.

``Some people are prospering through the buyout industry, and not one worker as far as we know in Times Square got a raise or got health care as a result of the buyout industry,'' Stern said.

Bain officials didn't immediately return a phone call seeking a comment.

The 1.8 million-member SEIU, which represents janitors, security guards, nurses and other service industry workers, began a campaign last month to raise public awareness about the activities of private-equity firms.

Stern said he has been meeting with buyout firm executives and will meet tomorrow with Bain Capital to express his concerns.

Bus Tour

SEIU's bus tour included stores operated by 28 companies that have been, are, or soon will be owned by private equity firms including Apollo Management LP, Bain Capital, Carlyle Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Blackstone Group LP.

Combined, private-equity firms employ more than 530,000 workers in the U.S., making the industry one of the nation's largest private employers, SEIU said.

``Private equity has created tremendous value,'' said Robert Stewart, a spokesman for the Private Equity Council, a Washington-based trade association founded by New York-based Blackstone and Apollo and Washington-based Carlyle.

``Between 1991 and 2006, private equity returned $430 billion worldwide in profits to their investors, nearly half of which are pension funds, university endowments and charitable foundations.''

{"commentId":1105765,"threadId":"163088","contentId":"1030265","authorDomain":"PamelaDrew"}

3 votes

#2 - Wed Oct 17, 2007 6:05 AM EDT

{"commentId":1108855,"authorDomain":"bobneve1"}

Wizeguy

How true Coach these stores do cater to the huddled masses. I myself always try to look for the Made in USA label. If I have a choice I will "Buy American". My car was assembled in Spring Hill , TN but I believe most of the parts came from Canada. I don't have one of those "Support our Troops" magnets to me thats supporting the Chinese factory that made the darn thing. Not that I am anti troop (my son is going to Iraq next month) I just wish we could get back to becoming a nation where products made here. With all that the Chinese were angry because we invited the Dali LLama to be reconized as a person of peace. So to all of this I say "BUY AMERICAN" (when you can anyway).

{"commentId":1108855,"threadId":"163088","contentId":"1030265","authorDomain":"bobneve1"}

1 vote

#3 - Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:27 AM EDT

{"commentId":1731766,"authorDomain":"muckraker462"}

muckraker462

Every day a defective product is recalled for lead poisoning, a choking hazard or one of any number of reasons. Not every story gets attention of Thomas the Tank Engine or a pet food recall, but every product recall poses its own set of dangers, and not staying informed is how more injuries occur.
At www.the-feed-store.com, you can easily track recalled products, keep up to date with defective drug recalls and much more. You can even syndicate the feeds from the site onto your homepage or blog.

{"commentId":1731766,"threadId":"163088","contentId":"1030265","authorDomain":"muckraker462"}

#4 - Thu Apr 24, 2008 11:26 PM EDT

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Chinese Defends Products -- B.s.	AOL	Wed Oct 17
Non-Chinese Toymakers Eye That Market	Associated Press	Fri Oct 19
Mattel Profit Dips on Recall Costs	Associated Press	Sun Oct 14

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