As Mattel deals with a recall of 1.5 million toys manufactured in China for its Fisher Price division that were covered in lead-based paint, just one of several major China-produced product recalls this year, some are calling for governmental regulations on companies that import product from China for sale in the U.S.

This is the second time this summer that a U.S. toy company has dealt with a black eye from China-manufactured product found to contain lead. In June, RC2, maker of Thomas & Friends toy trains, recalled 1.5 million toys upon fears that the products manufactured at a plant in DongGuan were tainted with lead. The company has since terminated its contract with the manufacturer and has taken strides to manage its paint suppliers.

Further to the lead-based toys hitting our store shelves, this year has brought a smattering of problems from product manufactured in China. As China defends the attacks on the “Made in China” label, insisting 99% of its toy exports are safe, there’s more to the story. Remember the 450,000 defective automobile tires? What about Fido dying from poisoned dog food? Then there was the bad seafood and toothpaste with the tasty hint of anti-freeze. Quite the pickle.

And now how this potentially impacts us. With the amount of “lead-free” and RoHS compliant product being manufactured in China, do you really feel confident that everything coming out of China meets your requirements?

With RoHS passing the one-year mark recently, one has to wonder when the EU will begin to deconstruct and test product that is supposedly RoHS compliant. If your PCBs and assemblies were manufactured in China, will you feel confident your product will comply?

Mattel estimates it will suffer a USD 30 million hit as a result of the recall, and with shares dropping 8.7 following the recall announcement seem to be an early indication of this guesstimate and a large price to pay.  But if the EU sticks to the directive and a company is caught in violation, it will have more than its shareholders and consumers to deal with; there could be fines and possible jail time.

Something to think about…