Florida-based toy importers charged with conspiracy

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) is making an impact on importers.  Not only has this law tasked toy importers with strict new testing requirements and more specific chemical restrictions (lead and phthalates), but it has also increased the penalties for those who break the rules.

This week the Miami Herald reported that two Florida importers were arrested and charged with conspiring to import toys that violated the U.S. lead (Pb) and other banned substances requirements.

The corporations involved:

• LM Import-Export
• Lam’s Investment Corporation
• LK Toys Corporation

 The Individuals charged:

• Jung Lam (age 55)
• Kit Yeung (age 37)

Apparently this is not their first brush with the law. According to the United States Attorney’s Office, Lam and Leung have  “conspired to distribute children’s toys that posed risks of choking, aspiration and ingestion.” Those cases included lead limit, small part and counterfeit product violations. The defendants are also suspected of falsifying information on custom declaration forms.

Lee Carter Company Infant Rattle poses choking hazard

Lee Carter Company, based in San Francisco, CA is having a bad week.  Earlier Safety Spot wrote about a recall of Lee Carter's set of 12 Mexican wrestling figures due to excessive lead in the paint.  In addition to that recall, the company just announced another recall for 25,000 Infant Rattles.

The handle of the rattle is small enough to fit into the back of the throat, creating a choking hazard for infants. The federal safety requirement for rattles (16 CFR 1510) restricts any part of a rattle from “entering and penetrating to the full depth of a cavity in a test fixture with dimensions shown in figure 1.”

The colorful woven-plastic rattle has a bell captured inside and measures 4-1/2” from end to end. The retail hangtag is printed with the words “Made in Mexico” and “Lee Carter Company.” Just as with the wrestling figures also recalled this week, the rattles were sold in Mexican craft stores across the USA.

The Rattles involved in this recall, sold for $4 each from February 2011 and through October 2011.  Consumers who have purchased these figures should scour the kids’ toy boxes and remove them immediately and return them to Lee Carter Co. for a refund replacement product credit.

The company can be contacted directly by collect call to (415) 824-2004 or via their website at http://www.leecartercompany.com.

Mexican wrestling action figures exceed allowable lead (Pb) limits

About 7,000 sets of Super Luchamania [Wrestling] Action Figures, produced in México and distributed throughout the United States by Lee Carter Co., of San Francisco, have been recalled due to excessive levels of lead in the paint.

Sold in packs of 12 for about $12-@14 a pack, these wrestling figures stand about 4” high and have the words “Super Luchamania” printed on the product packaging.

The product was sold at Mexican craft stores across the USA from June 2000 through October 2011.

Consumers who have purchased these figures should scour kids’ toy and sand boxes and remove the the figures immediately. Return them to Lee Carter Co. for a refund replacement product credit.

The company can be contacted directly by collect call to (415) 824-2004 or via their website at http://www.leecartercompany.com.