News / Business
Big Bird, Elmo and Dora the Explorer Among Toys Recalled by Fisher-Price
Fisher-Price has recalled more than 80 types of their popular toys on Thursday due to a high concentration of lead in the paint used on the products. The recall involves nearly one million toys intended for preschool aged children that were manufactured by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August.
The Chinese vendor responsible for painting the plastic toys has had a long relationship with Fisher-Price. David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price said ““We are still concluding the investigation, how it happened. ... But there will be a dramatic investigation on how this happened. We will learn from this.”
For Mattel Inc., the parent company of Fisher-Price, this is the largest recall since 1998 when they had to pull more than 10 million Power Wheels from the shelves.
Of the 83 types of toys pulled by Fisher-Price many bore the name of today’s most popular characters amongst children. Big Bird, Elmo, Dora the Explorer and Diego were among those characters whose toys carried a lead percentage greater than .06, a level set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
It is believed that the recall could cost Mattel upwards of $30 million. To view the complete list of toys effected by the recall visit http://www.service.mattel.com. For more information, call Mattel’s recall hot line at 800-916-4498.
