Yet Another Toy Recall

Normally I wouldn't even comment on a toy recall or even pay any attention to it. After all I don't have any children and don't watch the news very often. But this one I feel the need to comment on.

The company Spin Master created a toy called Aqua Dots (Bindeez in Australia). I must say that I had seen the commercials prior to the recall and thought it was an interesting idea. You create various designs with the beads and then when water is added the beads fuse together.

The problem is that kids do what kids do best... they swallow the beads. According to Health Canada's web site, "Information from Australia and the United States indicates that the tiny coloured beads may be coated with a substance that can become toxic when it is ingested. Children who swallow the beads may become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures."

What they don't tell you is that the chemical coating metabolizes into gamma hydroxy butyrate or GHB. In case you're not familiar with it GHB is a common date rape drug. I am still trying to wrap my head around how it is that a children's toy... turns into a date rape drug. How is that even possible?

I am reminded of all those times on shows like CSI (or the movie Traffic) where they come up with new ways to ship drugs where it's undetectable. Was this not supposed to hit the store shelves and accidentally wound up in the hands of children? Did the scientists involved not realize what would happen? How does this happen?

As it turns out it is just another incident on account of using Chinese plants to manufacture the product. 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. Why the switch? Probably because the second one costs 1/3 of the price.

Two weeks ago the government placed an export ban on 700 toy factories in the southern Guangdong province in China because of shoddy products. Perhaps companies should be looking at the true costs of doing business and clearly changes need to be made somewhere... In this case it's especially serious since the outcome could have been fatal.

And since the toys are currently being tested in Hong Kong what happens to the supplier if the chemical is found? They face up to 1 year in prison and a fine of $12,877. Something tells me that isn't enough of a deterrent. he 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... so 2 metric tons of switching the chemicals and the fine is already paid for. Not to mention the fact it could potentially be lethal... so ~$13000 just doesn't seem enough. Shut the factory down, implement mandatory inspections, and use stiff penalties to prevent this kind of thing from happening.