Mattel recalls millions more toys

By Sarah Coffey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mattel Inc., the largest U.S. toy company, recalled millions more Chinese-made toys on Tuesday due to hazards from small, powerful magnets and lead paint, and warned it may recall additional products as it steps up testing on thousands of toys.

Mattel's second recall this month came as it launched a national advertising campaign to assure consumers it is on top of product safety. The latest recall raised the prospects of legal liability for the California-based company.

Mattel stock fell as much as 6 percent on the day.

Consumer safety officials and Mattel executives both pledged to increase manufacturing and testing standards to ensure children's safety.

"There is absolutely no excuse for lead to be found in toys entering this country," said Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

"It is totally unacceptable and it needs to stop. This agency is going to take whatever action it needs to take to address that problem aggressively," she added.

The new recall involves 18.2 million magnetic toys globally, including 9.5 million in the United States, with magnets or magnetic parts that can be dislodged.

The CPSC said it had received hundreds of reports of magnets coming loose. It said it had previously received reports of three children swallowing more than one magnet and suffering intestinal blockage that required surgery. When more than one magnet is swallowed, the magnets can attract each other and cause the blockage, which can be fatal.

The U.S. recall includes 7.3 million Polly Pocket dolls and accessories with magnets, 1 million Doggie Day Care magnetic toys, 683,000 Barbie and Tanner magnetic toys, and 345,000 Batman and One Piece play sets.

About 253,000 Pixar Sarge die-cast toy cars with lead paint were also recalled. Lead has been linked to health problems in children, including brain damage.

Earlier this month, Mattel's Fisher-Price unit recalled about 1.5 million preschool toys made by China-based contract manufacturer Lida Toy Co. because the paint on the toys might contain excessive amounts of lead. That recall included products based on popular characters from "Sesame Street" and "Dora the Explorer."

Mattel Chief Executive Robert Eckert declined in an interview to say what the financial impact from the latest recalls would be. He said, though, that a large portion of the recall was accounted for in a $30 million charge Mattel would take after the Fisher-Price recall.

"There could be additional recalls," Eckert told reporters. "We are testing at a very high level here. No system is perfect. What's important is that parents understand what we're doing to fix those issues."

MATTEL BRAND TAKES A HIT

Meanwhile, Mattel recalled millions of its Chinese-made toys across Europe on Tuesday, including Barbie and Batman.