Barrow Calls for US to Inspect Imported Toys

Press Release

Barrow Calls for US to Inspect Imported Toys

Washington, DC - Following today's Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection hearing on children's product safety, 12th District Georgia Congressman John Barrow (D-Savannah) released this statement:

"We need to figure out how we are going to keep lead contaminated toys off of our shelves sooner rather than later," Barrow said. "The biggest shopping day of the year is less than a month away, and parents need to know that the toys they buy their kids are not polluted with lead or other toxins."

There were more toy recalls in October than in any previous calendar year. Lead content played a large role in many of those recalls. Some of the toys recalled this year contained 180 times the legally acceptable level of lead, while some children's jewelry contained 96% lead. Children who play with these toys for one to six months are at risk of substantial and severe lead poisoning.

"It's high time that we export a culture of compliance to China, where more than 80% of our toys come from. Short of that, we need to apply the same approach the USDA uses to certify the meatpacking process overseas - we need to inspect foreign toy manufacturers before their products reach our shores and enter the stream of commerce."

Congressman Barrow is a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection.

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