Safety of Chinese-Made Toys Is Hardly Child's Play

The latest Chinese products posing safety problems for consumers are children's toys, joining toothpaste, pet food, and drugs on an increasingly worrisome list, the New York Times reports. Last week's recall of Thomas & Friends train toys brought the total number of toys recalled by the US this year to for safety reasons to 24—all  made in China.

The number of Chinese products recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission has doubled in 5 years, and the CPSC's staff is so small that the toy industry is largely self policed. Meanwhile, China makes as much as 80% of toys sold in the US, and that can mean lead paint, kerosene, and choking hazards in the toy chest. (More China stories.)