Penney recalls Winnie-the-Pooh sets due to lead

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Retailer J.C. Penney Co recalled thousands of Winnie-the-Pooh doll play sets, wooden art boxes and horse-themed holiday ornaments because of unsafe levels of lead paint, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said on Thursday.

The largest number of items recalled were 49,000 Winnie- the-Pooh play sets made in China. Each 23-piece play set included a baby doll, playpen, swing, stroller and sold for about $40, the safety agency said.

The play sets were sold from the Penney catalog and Web site during a two-year period ending in August 2007, it said.

Penney also recalled 19,000 wooden box art sets with pull- out trays containing paints and brushes. The art sets were sold for about $40 from September 2005 through August 2007, the safety agency said.

The art sets were made in Taiwan and Vietnam.

Finally, Penney recalled 2,400 Breyer stirrup ornaments featuring a prancing horse and ribbons. Each Chinese-made ornament has "2006" stamped on the rim and sold for about $18, the safety agency said.

All the items were recalled because they contain excessive levels of lead in their paint. No injuries were reported involving any of the recalled items, the safety agency said.

The agency posted photographs of the recalled items on its Web site at www.cpsc.gov .

(Reporting by Julie Vorman)