Date Rape Drug Found In Children's Toys

[paddbear0000]

Unbelievable! I think this takes the cake above all other Chinese exports!

Hong Kong Tests Toys for Date Rape Drug
By DIKKY SINN
Associated Press Writer

HONG KONG — China-made toys seized in Hong Kong were being tested Thursday after scientists in Australia found that similar ones contained a chemical that converts into a powerful "date rape" drug when ingested, officials said.

At least five children — two in the United States and three in Australia — have been hospitalized after swallowing the toy beads, which are used in arts and crafts projects. They can be arranged into designs and fused when sprayed with water.

Australian scientists say a chemical coating on the beads, when ingested, metabolizes into the so-called "date-rape" drug gamma hydroxy butyrate. When eaten, the compound — made from common and easily available ingredients — can induce unconsciousness, seizures, drowsiness, coma and death.

The toys were sent to a laboratory in Hong Kong for tests, a customs official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of policy. If the tests come back positive for the chemical, suppliers of the toy in Hong Kong could face a year in jail and fines of $12,877, she said.

Problems in China's toy industry came into focus earlier this year when Mattel Inc. recalled more than 21 million Chinese-made toys worldwide. Products including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars were pulled off shelves because of concerns about lead paint or tiny detachable magnets that could be swallowed.

The latest toys under scrutiny are called Aqua Dots in the United States and Bindeez in Australia, where they were named toy of the year at an industry function.

Retailer Toys "R" Us Inc. said it issued a "stop sale" on the entire Spin Master Aqua Dots product line on Tuesday in its North American stores and on its Web site after it learned of the news. "We understand that Spin Master and U.S. regulatory authorities are investigating this product and we have asked Spin Master to fully explain what it believes happened," it said.

Toys "R" Us said it pulled all the toy beads from its stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia after officials in Australia ordered them off the shelves Tuesday.

A company spokeswoman for Moose Enterprises' Hong Kong office said the production of the toy was outsourced to a mainland Chinese factory. She refused to elaborate and referred all further requests for comment to the company's head office in Australia.

"Our Hong Kong office is only responsible for operations such as logistics and shipping arrangements, we don't have any firsthand information," the employee, who would only give her surname, Lo, told The Associated Press.

Moose Enterprises said Bindeez and Aqua Dots are made at the same factory, which is in Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province. Last week, the government announced an export ban on more than 700 toy factories in the region because of shoddy products.

The company said the product is distributed in 40 countries.

The toys were supposed to use 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained the harmful 1,4-butanediol, which is widely used in cleaners and plastics.

The Food and Drug Administration in 1999 declared the chemical a Class I Health Hazard, meaning it can cause life-threatening harm.

Both chemicals are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet.

It's not clear why 1,4-butanediol was substituted. However, there is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.

The recall was announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Wednesday several hours after published reports about the recall in Australia.

The two U.S. children who swallowed Aqua Dot beads went into nonresponsive comas, commission spokesman Scott Wolfson said Wednesday. A 20-month-old has recovered, while the other child, whose age was not known, has been released from a hospital after five days and is recovering, he said.

"To prevent any other child from being hurt, we are calling upon parents to take the product away immediately," Wolfson said.

In Australia, the toys were ordered off store shelves on Tuesday when officials learned that a 2-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. A 19-month-old toddler also was being treated.

[glitter]

we were looking at those last weekend on the store shelves....thankgod my kids are old enough not to eat the toys, but damn...I am reading a book   'China Inc' by Ted Fishman, what an eye-opener on how things work in China- I would say this kind of thing will continue, and maybe get worse before it gets better.

[Deanne]

I've been trying for a long time to avoid things that were made in China. I just don't trust their manufacturing ethics.

[bolta72]

I second that.

[glitter]

you want to gag  -google counterfeit soy sauce- i check every bottle I buy- no food from china!!!

[Rerun]

We just need to STOP buying things made in China.  They are trying to kill our babies.   

[angela515]

Too bad, My kids have AquaDots and love them... I was gonna get them more for xmas, oh well, I'll let them finish what they have though, (they are old enough to know not to swallow toys..) and besides, I do them with them.

[Jill D.]

We just need to STOP buying things made in China.  They are trying to kill our babies.   

I'm with you, Rerun. I wish we would cut off importing from China altogether - bring the manufacturing jobs back to the US. I watched a news report that 80% of prescription drugs are now imported...mostly from China. And, for the most part, they are not regulated by the FDA.  VERY SCARY for all of us. 

[Laurie]

I bought my daughter Aqua Dots for Christmas...I guess I'll be taking them back.
She was very disappointed when she heard they were being recalled. Her response was I guess I won't be getting Aqua Dots for Christmas.

[Duane]

books are safer, it also makes parents spend some quality time with the kids on an educational level. it's affordable and lasts longer.

[Sluff]

I'm with Rerun, to heck with China, first it's the dog food, then our food and now the toys. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. It is a form of terrorism. Just my 

[lola]

you want to gag  -google counterfeit soy sauce- i check every bottle I buy- no food from china!!!

i was wondring why my hair was growing so well. 

[thegrammalady]

so much of us business is conducted overseas. maybe there's a lesson to be learned from this mess with china. BRING IT ALL HOME. business need to stop outsourcing for bigger profits and employees need to stop asking for so much.  i however am not holding my breath.

[Patton]

Date Rape Drugs in kids toys....thats just plain sickening. How the F**K does this S**T happen. It's not like the crap is needed to make the toys.... .....That crap really sets me off!!! .......

[Patton]

thegrammalady is right...if we bring "it" all home, our economy would be much better, also. People would have the jobs that they complain they don't have, and we'd be forcing people to buy American....thus increasing the value of the American dollar...thus creating a better economy and better future for ourselves and our future America.