Tuesday
Dec012009
Toy Recalls: Inside the Melissa & Doug and Imaginarium Recalls
Tuesday, December 1, 2009 
Image credit: Z Recommends
Health Canada has been busy issuing recalls of wood toys due to excess levels of Barium. These are toys from companies like Melissa & Doug, that concientious safety-minded parents have come to trust. It also includes toys from the Toys R Us Imaginarium brand. These are toys that are in many houses. Toys that are on many Christmas lists. Toys that may already be wrapped and under the tree. So far the recall is limited to Canada and only to toys purchased within a specific time frame. But there is more to the story than that. If you bought your toy in the US or bought it earlier than the specified time frame, that doesn't mean it is safe.
Z Recommends wrote a thorough post on the issue. Here is an excerpt:
What does this mean for U.S. consumers? It means that actual, physical products that have been recalled in Canada for unsafe levels of barium do not meet current U.S. standards, although U.S. companies will not have to prove this until sometime next year, and then only for products manufactured after February 2009. (Toys on shelves now could conceivably have been manufactured before that date.)
Read the whole thing to get their in depth expert assessment of the situation.
Breaking: Melissa & Doug, Imaginarium toys recalled in Canada appear to violate U.S. limits
Do you have these toys in your home? What do you plan to do? What do you think Melissa and Doug and Toys R' Us should do?
Reader Comments (35)
Yikes. We have that shape-sorting cube and it's one of my son's favorites...
We have the shape sorting cube, too. I guess we'll have to dispose of it. I'm surprised there would be a recall in Canada but not the USA. A retailer could issue a recall on their own, even if the manufacturer does not do it. So maybe Toys R Us should issue their own recall. They could also put pressure on the vendor to issue a broad recall.
Yikes! My son doesn't have any of these toys, but I'm going to post on FB about it in case my friends' kids do. M&D ought to come forward with a statement, and Toys R Us, if the product is the same (just b/c it looks the same doesn't mean the barium levels are the same) should do so as well. But, unless the barium levels are verified in the Toys R Us product I don't think we should jump to conclusions (unless it's been verified and I misread?).
@MZ: The barium levels in the Toys R Us (Imaginarium) product have been verified. http://www.healthycanadians.ca/pr-rp/recall-retrait_e.php?langCd=eng&searchTyp=1&re_id=843&searchstring=&searchyear=2009&searchcategory=&StartIndex=1" rel="nofollow">Canada issued a recall for them too. The link was included in Zrecs post, but I guess they didn't say outright that it had been recalled as well.
@Alina: As I understand it, there is a recall in Canada because it has regulations in place with regards to barium levels in children's products. The US does not (yet) have regulations in place. However the safe levels have been determined in the US and the regulations are set to go into force in February 2010. Until then, as far as I know, the US can only suggest that the manufacturer issue a voluntary recall. I don't think it can force a recall though. I may be wrong though...perhaps there is a way to do it.
Wow. I am so disappointed. I am also worried, though, because we have a Melissa & Doug tool kit up in the top of our closet for our daughter's Christmas and now I'm not sure if it's safe. They make hundreds of toys and the paint looks the same on all of them. Are they all unsafe? I don't think the tool kit has been recalled specifically, but I wonder if I should throw it out anyway. I searched and found that a stacker like ours (http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=436) had been recalled also--the one recalled was a set of three different stackers on one base, and ours is the little round one by itself, so I guess it's the same. What are people doing about their M&D toys that are not on the recall list?
ARH how frustrating. We have Melissa + Doug toys from gift givers that know we don't have plastic... 2 of the ones in the photo above actually. Out they go.... thank you for sharing...
I read through the Z Recs post... (they are so good, aren't they??)
Anyway, the right thing to do would be for Toys R Us to issue a recall on the version of the shape sorter that they source & sell (since they are the vendor). Meanwhile, Toys R Us should put pressure on Melissa & Doug to put on a recall.... Toys R Us probably is the single biggest buyer of Melissa & Doug toys so they have clout.
Lastly, Toys R Us can also recall the Melissa & Doug version on their own, even without Melissa & Doug issuing the recall. If Melissa & Doug issues the recall, then they will probably reimburse Toys R Us for the returned product. But if Toys R Us does it on their own, they may lose money since they won't be getting the funds from the vendor.
However, as a retailer, Toys R Us may be liable if a child is injured by a toy sold by the retails -- so I'm sure if this was a blatant safety concern such as a product slicing off a child's finger, Toys R Us would not hesitate to isse the recall while the vendor is sitting on their heels, doing nothing!
Overall, retailers such as Target, WalMart and Toys R Us have power over vendors like Melissa and Doug. The retailers could put pressure on vendors and demand more safety tests. In today's world, retails are becoming vendors themselves as they make private lable product. Look at all the private lable toys at Target -- there are tons of painted wooden toys, sourced in 3rd world countries! Retailers seem to have a lot more power than ever to effect change.
Imagine if WalMart put pressure on Nestle (not like that would ever happen... WalMart is not know for it's ethical business practices!)
We have the shape sorter. Frankly, this pisses me off. It's also really frustrating-- I feel like I should just not buy any toys since you apparently can't trust any vendor these days. >=(
And I agree with Alina on what should be done.
So, the recall states that the recall is for the M&D toys sold between Nov 2008 and Nov 2009. Does that mean that those are the only ones with unsafe barium levels or is that only reflecting when the standards became active?
@Sarah: It could be when the standards became active or it could be when they bothered to test (i.e. only tested toys currently on shelves/sold recently, versus older ones).
I have 2 of the 3 recalled items and many other older Melissa and Doug items. For now, I'm going to ask them to send me a cloth toy in exchange. But what to do with other toys? I don't know.
@radmama: Is that something they are offering (sending cloth toy in exchange)? Or are you just going to ask and see?
I was devastated to find out that the shape sorter had been recalled. My husband just went out today to return it. It's been a favorite toy not only of my daughters but my daycare kids too! There are teeth marks all over those shapes! Ack! Makes me wonder about all their other toys. We have a kitchen set they make and the pizza toy with all the toppings that velcro on. A few others too. All mouth-inviting toys. Geez, what to do? Makes me want to return them all!
Thanks for the info. We have the shape sorter, and I never really liked it anyway. This gives me a reason to toss it. I just read a disturbing review of a Melissa and Doug toy that a parent had tested for lead and it came bacj positive. Yikes! First Sigg and BPA, now Melissa and Doug. Who can you trust?
I emailed them yesterday, and they told me to call to work out a toy exchange for our sorter.
What are you all doing with Melissa & Doug toys not included in the recall? Assuming they are safe or pitching them? We just found out my son has their Peekaboo Panda (apparently M&D toys are big with Montessori preschools?).
I'm glad they are working something out with you Sarah. I wish they would post something publicly and answer peoples questions publicly. This is so disappointing.
I'm not buying any other toys from them and the ones we do have are either in the recall or our kids have outgrown them. I've put them away, but am hanging on to them for now to see what happens.
i did the same as you and was appalled I couldn't find info on site
They were lovely on the phone and offered to exchange for same toys from batches that passed test or cloth toy or puzzle. I need to call back with a decision. I bought a new pound a peg from this company via a local shop" http://www.toymakeroflunenburg.com/
This is so disturbing! I specifically use wooden toys to avoid the dangers of plastic! I have the Melisa and Doug wooden vegetable set, I bought it about a year ago to go with the wooden play kitchen I bought. (I mostly get my toys from IKEA, but have been living in a town where there isn't one.) I was planning on getting a bunch of their other play food for Christmas this year. I guess I'm going to have to stick to IKEA and other European sources for toys, what a drag, the cookie and pizza sets looked so cool. I hope they clean them up, i want to get them at some point.
So what can we do about this? Not so much about the recall, but about M&D's completely ignoring our requests to own up to this?! It makes me crazy every time I log onto Twitter and see NOTHING from them. We should all write posts about it and link up somewhere. And promote the link up, promote the recall. I'm just so mad that they're ignoring us. They're sitting back in their million dollar offices, waiting for this to just blow over so they can KEEP making millions while promoting themselves and their "safe" products. This is infuriating.
Annie, what if you (or someone else) wrote a short, to-the-point post stating our disappointment with the company and our commitment not to buy or promote their products -with links back here and to Z Recommends of course- and everyone could copy and paste it onto our blogs. It would get the story out and show M&D that we're serious and that they can't step all over consumers and ignore their concerns. A Linky of some sort would track how many blogs the post is showing up on. Personally, I'm not going to full out boycott M&D, but I WILL NOT BUY any more of their products until they address all of our concerns. This is brutal.
We bought a shape-sorting cube branded under Target's Circo Brand just two days ago. It's unfortunate Melissa and Doug appear to be very poor coroporate citizens. In this day and age, to not issue a full recall, or any public statement acknowledging the problem (and corrective action) is shameful, and not what I would have expected.
We bought the toy as a gift for a friend's toddler, but I guess we'll have to look for something else, and dispose of the toy. I'll be emailing Target, asking them to reevaluate using Melissa and Doug as a supplier. If they get more resonses from parent's like us, they may stop buying from M&D, and look for better alternatives.
If Toys R Us and Target get enough complaints, they will
This is a good point. Doug mentioned to us in correspondence that they do not list Canadian recalls on their website because they do not sell to Canada through their website. Yet Canadians like Americans will be coming to Melissaanddoug.com to learn about their products. This would be a good point to press them on as the could easily add recall information to their website and I believe if they received enough requests for this, and believed that it was widely believed among consumers that they had the responsibility to do this, they would do so.
Amy - I may do that if I have the time over the next few days, but I may not get to it. If you have a few minutes, please feel free to take the lead!
Another update from Z Recommends:
http://www.zrecommends.com/detail/exclusive-melissa-doug-answer-recall-questions-pledge-new-standards/" rel="nofollow">Exclusive: Melissa & Doug answer recall questions, pledge to test all toys to Canadian standard
I emailed M&D for more information a few days ago. Like the others, I got no response. I was really frustrated. I returned our slice and back cookie set to the store where we bought it (a Toronto chain called Mastermind Toys). The sales staff there was very helpful but informed me that they had be told by email that it was only the packaging that contained the high levels of barium and as a result, they were advising people to keep the toys and throw away the packaging! When I told them this wasn't what Health Canada said they seemed a bit confused. They did return the product for me for a "full refund". But, since I didn't have the receipt it was for the lowest price the toys had ever sold for (in this case $5 less than I paid for it). Frustrating! What I want to know is whether other M & D toys are also contaminated. And why M & D is being so secretive and coy about what is really going on?
M&D toys are commonly used in Montessori schools, I learned. One of my girlfriends works in Montessori and told me that the issue is only with the red paint. So, if you have a cloth toy or a toy without red paint it should be fine, but if you own another M&D toy that has red paint it might be better to be safe than sorry and just pitch it. I'm not sure where she heard this but that's the rule their school is taking, and I think that's what I'm going to follow.
And just to confirm, no one has heard anything from M&D except that they're going to start testing their toys to the Canadian standard?
[...] PhD In Parenting – Toy Recalls: Inside the Melissa & Doug Imaginarium Recalls… Health Canada has been busy issuing recalls of wood toys due to excess levels of Barium. [...]
[...] a lot of patterns. I wasn’t planning on making anything, but then I read about a bunch of Melissa & Doug toys being recalled due to toxic paint. Well, crap. We had some of the recalled toys, which were promptly thrown away. We also had some of [...]
[...] we have some play food. It is a mix of some Melissa and Doug stuff (oh, wait…that disappeared when it was recalled), non-branded plastic whole food items (e.g. vegetables, breads, meats, etc.), and some branded [...]
My son was underweight and not developing well recently. The doctor ordered the lead blood test and the result turns out to be higher than expected. So I tested all the toys in my home and found out the shape-sorting cube turns pink when using the lead testing kit! This toy is my son's favorite toy and my husband bought it two months ago from toys R us. Now I recalled that it matches the time my son started to have poor appetite.
I purchased 5 boxes of the "100 Colorful Shaped Blocks" for my grandchildren during the past year. Are they safe? Is there any testing device you can send, so that I can test to see if they are safe? Please advise.