Aqua Dots/Bindeez -- latest toy scare from China

[kida]

There's yet another toy recall from products made in China. Two children in the U.S. and three in Australia were hospitalized after swallowing an Aqua Dots bead (Bindeez in Australia). It's being reported that, when swallowed, the coating on the beads chemically changes into the date rape drug GHB.

So what's going on in China's manufacturing industry? This is just the latest in a long list of products that have been recalled this year, about 60% of which came from factories in China.

Is this just an issue of China's safety standards not keeping up with the increase in production? Is it deliberate (either by individuals or a group)? With Christmas right around the corner, what is the toy industry going to do?

 

[xboxundone]

I think this is a big part in due to companies not taking responsibility and only looking at the bottom line....
More of my fear is i heard on the news that consuming these will give you a high so i wonder how many drugees ran to the stores and bought them up...

 

[dong]

A common speculation is that this is indicative of severe issues with China's manufacturing safety standards, which are now being taken much more notice of as China appears to be becoming economically important on the global scene. If their products are not to be trusted, how are they going to maintain a viable export industry in the wake of growing criticism and most likely mass boycott?

The reputation for cheap corner-cutting industry that comes with the "Made In China" label has been around for at least a decade or two before this recent speight of headlines. This in itself points to the extent of dependency of global retail interests on cheap mass-production.