First we learned in June that a certain wooden boxcar (among other Chinese-made Thomas the Tank Engine products) that has been innocently chewed on and otherwise enjoyed by thousands of young children has dangerous levels of lead paint, and was being recalled by RC2 Corporation (RCRC:NASDAQ). Justice is served, and their stock’s down 25% in the 60 days that have followed.
Then Mattel (MAT:NYSE) discovers that unauthorized paint subcontracting in China brought lead paint into the lives of their child customers as well. And having recalled nine million toys two weeks ago, they’ve now come clean on 1.5 million toys that lose their magnets into tiny mouths and ultimately, tummies. Mattel’s shares weather these things far too well, which makes you wonder if a healthy market spanking might ensure they paid more attention to quality control - and not just the price of a landed toy - in their supply chain.
Now, the U.S. Federal Drug Administration has decided, on a preliminary basis anyway, that you should no longer give young children certain medicines. The NYT keeps changing the text of the story (have the drug co. lawyers been calling?), so here is the piece as filed yesterday:
WASHINGTON, Aug. 15 — In the first major reassessment of the safety of children’s cough and cold medicine in decades, federal drug officials said that the drugs should never be given to children under the age of 2 unless approved by a doctor.
Additional warnings about the drugs could be in the offing, because the Food and Drug Administration announced today that it would convene a meeting of independent experts on Oct. 18. They will to advise the agency about whether new label warnings or prohibitions should be undertaken. The committee will also discuss how well parents and caregivers administer the drugs to children.
In higher than normal doses, cold medicines can affect the heart’s electrical system, leading to arrhythmias. Some medicines affect the blood vessels and, in high doses, have been associated with high blood pressure and strokes. In rare cases, children have been injured when given recommended doses.
The F.D.A. also advised that children should never be given cold and cough medicines that have been packaged for adults and that parents should closely follow label directions about the appropriate dose to give their children.
“Too much medicine may lead to serious and life-threatening side effects, particularly in children aged 2 years and younger,” the advisory stated.
In March, a group of prominent pediatricians and public health officials petitioned the agency to remove from the market medicines intended for children under the age of 6. The petition said that the medicines do not work and that in rare cases they can cause serious injury.
Among the popular medicines covered by the F.D.A.’s advisory are Toddler’s Dimetapp, Infant Triaminic and Little Colds. Like hundreds of older drugs, many of the medicines in these products never received thorough safety reviews by the agency.
The FDA hasn’t reviewed “hundreds of older drugs” currently sold in the U.S.? In my ears rings the advice you’ll often get from a GP: “people generally under-medicate their children”.
The nations of the West have had more than 60 years since the end of WWII to build a reliable, modern government infrastructure; one focused more on the taxpayer. Politicians come and go, but there are plenty of 20 and 25 year civil servants and public servants to provide consistency of oversight in the consumer world. I’m amazed that just 10 weeks ago you could have marched into any mall in North America and purchased cold medicine, James the Red Engine and certain Dora and Diego items for a 3 year old child, only to find out now that this was a terrible idea.
What will we learn 10 weeks from now? That cell phones actually do cause brain damage if used for extended periods of time on the same side of your head? That the toy you buy this weekend shouldn’t have been sold? That sustained iPod earphone use is bad for your hearing? That backseat side airbags are as dangerous to young passengers under 60 pounds as the ones in the front passenger seat of an SUV?
The buck doesn’t seem to stop anywhere on the consumer recall front: that has to change.
MRM
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Submitted By 
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Safety Recalls becoming rampant.
We need to bring these industries back into the United States, not only for safety purposes, but also for our economy. I cannot agree that the Chinese are trying to "get even" with us. It is the Japanese people who should be doing that after we "got even" for Pearl Harbor. Maybe all the rest of the world should be doing that. We are a spoiled nation of selfish people. Our children do not need all of these toys anyway. By the way, I played with Mercury from a broken thermometer when I was a child. I am 67 and do not have autism, Alzheimer Disease, or Parkinson Disease.
Toy Recall
I want to know if there are more toys with these recalls now I am scared to let my two year old play with any toys.We just don't know any more Please help me determine which toys are safe
Quality control
Some responsibility for this is also in the hands of the corporate executives and their senior management. We all know that accountants suggest it is easier to manage costs of a certain level of product malfunction by sending out replacements. This concept has replaced the traditional model and created a corporate profit enhancing model. IE.. make a crappy product and if people complain, fight a bit then if they persist send out a replacement. It's way more profitable than making a product that has no defects in it's production.
The 'consumer model' has been trashed and the government has no power to stop Big Business's lobbyists in the Congress or Senate. Good luck with this problem. It's only going to get worse.
Chinese crappy imports
How about manufacturing some products here in the USA again. We certainly could make anything the Chinese do, and we may even care about quality. It may mean not quite as much profit to some companies, but the PR would be super for any company bringing jobs BACK to the US. Cliff Ross Conway, SC
Goods from China
I notice that many many types of goods are made in China. Some are excellent, like cameras, electronics, watches and machinery, some, bad if not dangerous. Its up to the companies in the USA to monitor the products from China. I lay the blame on people who have their eyes on making huge profits from inexpensive Chinese goods and not requiring the Chinese to meet our FDA and other safety standards. Its called greed.
We are giving away our ability to manufacture, once the great strength of America, and throwing us into a service economy. We are even giving away sectors of the service economy to countries like India. This, along with fighting undeclared wars against countries that are not threatening us spells the decline of America as a moral and economic force in the world.
Kidney impairment study?
Has anyone (CDC) performed a comprehensive study concerning the rise of kidney impairment and liver disfunction in U.S. citizens in the past 25-30 years in the U.S. that could be linked to the anti-freeze in imported vitamins,medications and food supplements from China? Could these same contaminants be linked to Autism? Many of our vaccines are actually produced in China.
Can't blame China for wanting their 'payback', but repremands and corrections are appropriate for correcting the behavior of micreants.
Capitol Hill has done a great slight of hand in keeping the national public eye on Iraq and off of their shoddy international trade dealings. If my or your record of posative accomplishments on the job mirrored the records of those linning their pockets in Washington, we would not be employed!
Sandy Isles
Michigan