Can the news from China get any stranger than this? In Mattel’s latest toy recall (Mattel is up to at least 21,000,000 recalled toys just in the past few months), the popular Aqua Dots beads have been found to contain a chemical that acts as a date-rape drug when ingested by children. Here are excerpts from a story in the Dallas Morning News:
Aqua Dots, which features small beads that bond with water, contain chemical 1,4-butanediol, an industrial solvent that the body converts to drug gamma-hydroxy butyrate, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Web site.
Two children in the U.S. who swallowed the beads were hospitalized after they became comatose and later recovered, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement. The toys were manufactured in China and distributed by Toronto-based Spin Master, it said.
The recall comes as consumer concern grows about Chinese-made products amid revelations this year of toxic pet food, contaminated vitamins, lead paint on toys and deadly cribs. President George W. Bush earlier this week called for increased penalties for companies that sell dangerous products and establishing a certification program for producers that meet safety standards.
China, which produces four-fifths of the toys sold in the U.S., has been the focus of several recalls this year, including at least 21 million items recalled by the world’s largest toymaker, Mattel Inc.
