Boy Scouts recall lead-tainted Chinese badges

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Boy Scouts of America said on Friday it is recalling more than a million badges worn by young Cub Scouts because of a lead paint danger.

The made-in-China plastic "totem" badges are painted blue and yellow with the words "Progress Toward Ranks." Cub Scouts aged 7 and 8 normally wear them on their shirt pockets.

"During a routine test of products, the Boy Scouts' supply group discovered lead paint" on the badges, said Gregg Shields, national spokesman for the Boy Scouts of America.

"No illness related to the product has been reported to us," he said, adding that about 1.5 million of the badges are in circulation. They have been distributed in kits since 2000, with each kit containing eight to ten badges.

The recall was the latest in a wave involving children's toys and other products made in China that has prompted calls in Congress for action and criticism of U.S. product safety regulators.

The badges are supplied to the Boy Scouts by Kahoot Products Inc., of Roswell, Ga., said Shields.

The company is making a voluntary recall and asking parents to take the badges away from their children.

Shields said, "We test all products we receive directly from China and we've been testing other products from suppliers that bring them in from China... This is the first of 94 items we've tested so far to come back with excessive lead."

(Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh)