Recall Madness: September 2007 Archives

Hundreds of thousands more toys were recalled today in seven separate announcements from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, all related to lead paint. The new recalls include: Thomas and Friends wooden railway and Knights of the Sword toys made by RC2, Guidecraft puppet theaters and kids gardening tools sold at Target and Jo-Ann craft stores.

I bought some of these adorable little pink and green gardening rakes from Target months ago. I'm not crazy about the idea that they are covered with lead paint, but my kids barely touch them and it's hard to believe they could do any harm. It almost sounds easier to throw them out than haul them back to Target.

Here's a list of U.S.-made toys we ran when the recall story first broke:

NONPLASTIC TOYS
www.novanatural.com naturalplay.com/
www.peapods.com/
www.seasonsnaturaltoys.com/

AMERICAN-MADE TOYS
www.ShopForAmerica.com
www.ZebulonUSA.com
www.usmadetoys.com
www.unclegoosetoys.com
www.holgatetoy.com
www.maplelandmark.com

So, I got a bit more information that gives me some confidence that there's no need to panic every time Mattel, or the California Public Health Department, issues a new recall. I spoke to the department this morning, and they said some bad lunch bags were almost certainly distributed at some LAUSD schools given the size of the district. And the lead levels in those bags was pretty high.

On the other hand, I spoke to The Tin Box Co., which makes Disney's lunch boxes and supplies Walmart and Target. Lloyd Roth, president of the company, says his ink from China and Japan has always been tested, and the stores that buy this stuff also test them, and the lead levels are way below U.S. government standards.

He also said that since Mattel started making all this noise about possible problems with lead, Tin Box has added yet another layer of testing to its own process: during the last month or so, the company, based in Farmingdale, New York, has been sending out samples of its finished products to a lab in Manhattan before they go to market for one more independent test, and he's been happy with the results.

"We send it to a lab and they scrape [the ink] off,'' he said. "We don’t want people to feel uncomfortable.''
Since the company has been making tins with cookies or candy or some other kind of food inside for 50 years, it has always done a lot of testing -- its part of the way they do business. So go right ahead -- pack the kid's lunch in a Tin Box Co. lunch box. I'd hold off on anything government issued, though.

I am not prone to paranoia when it comes to recalls. When Mattel started announcing it was calling in toys with lead, I did not immediately go through my kids closets. But today's news that something like 56,000 lunch bags tainted with lead are being recalled really hits us Moms in the gut. This time, it's not just about keeping plastics out of the mouths of toddlers. The idea that a wholesome sandwich I take the time to fix could sit in my daughter's lunch box all day and absorb lead makes me sick.

The lead bags were passed out at school health fairs in California as part of an effort to promote healthy eating. They are blue and green canvas bags with logos that say: EAT FRUITS & VEGETABLES AND BE ACTIVE in English and Spanish.

Let me get personal. My husband returned from Toronto last week toting two adorable Disney Princess lunch boxes, which he paid an arm and leg for due to the weakness of the dollar against Canadian currency. My daughters LOVE them and have started taking them to school. The boxes, made in China by The TIn Box Co., came with little stickers on the bottom saying "Lead-free tested.''

But now I'm highly suspicious. Even if they claim they've been tested, how do you know? I have a call in to the TIn Box Co., and I'll update what I find out. The point is, these recalled bags look the same as most canvas lunch bags I've seen. So I'd say it's highly likely that most of these bags contain some lead.
I think I'm going to go back to my brown bags. The kids can use the lunch boxes for play. I guess the lesson here is you've got to choose what to get worried about. I mean, Croc-style sandals may get stuck in escalators, but at least they don't contain lead (at least that we know of). And what about the toxic soup of smog we all breathe in, living in the 310, 909 and 818?