April 17th 2008

Part of that volume can be explained by the enormous quantity of goods that Europe imports from China and stronger product checks, the EU said.

The EU warned that consumer confidence in Chinese goods has fallen dramatically and said that "much work will need to be done if China is to regain the trust of European citizens in its products."

In what came to be called the "summer of recalls" for retailers, toymaker Mattel was forced to pull millions of lead-tainted Chinese-made toys from shelves.

The European Union flagged 1,605 dangerous products last year - up 53 percent from 1,051 the previous year. National authorities in the EU's 27 nations.

Toys sounded a quarter of the EU's rapid alerts, followed by cars and electrical appliances.

"More than one out of three products notified was either a toy or a childcare article, showing the importance that market surveillance authorities place on checking this category," the EU said in a statement.

China is still the main source of dangerous goods, it said, with Chinese alerts up slightly from 2006.

The EU executive said this reflected the huge volume of Chinese trade - about 80 percent of all toys come from China - and tighter checks on products from China.

While EU regulators said Chinese authorities were investigating the companies, it took action in just under half of cases. It was not able to counter under a third of the problems because the manufacturer could not be traced.

European officials praised China's "significant effort" to strengthen controls on toys but said the number of product alerts showed there were still major problems with product safety at the lower end of the market.

China has audited 3,540 manufacturers with export licenses, it said, and 701 companies lost their right to export because of insufficient safety control systems.

The quality of Beijing's exports came under international scrutiny in March 2007 after dog and cat deaths in North America were linked to a pet food ingredient made in China. Concerns grew after potentially dangerous toxins and chemicals were found in products ranging from toothpaste to fish.

America's Mattel Inc. then 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 by children.

The EU said it is now monitoring how businesses control toy safety and would push for more training at Chinese companies on EU toy safety standards.

EU and U.S. product safety officials will visit China in September to present a united front on quality control in talks, the EU said.

 

Source: http://www.iht.com/ International Herald Tribune