According to US toy maker, the Guangdong-based Lee Der Industrial Company Ltd had made the 967,000 plastic preschool toys for Mattel between May and August last year, that it was forced to recall last week.(See: Mattel to take a $30 million charge on recall of China-made toys)

A spokeswoman for the US toy maker said that all the toys that were recalled were made by the same vendor and that the Mattel had stopped accepting shipments from it.
The recalled toys include the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters, because they were made with paint found to have excessive amounts of lead.

Mattel has since shared the name of the vendor with its competitors who may also be doing business with the Chinese company, as it felt it was important to warn other toy makers of the potential hazards of the products.

The recall is estimated to lead to a loss of Mattel''s pre tax operating income by $30 million.

In June, RC2 Corp. recalled 1.5 million wooden railroad toys and set parts from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line because of lead paint. Those toys were also made in China.

Earlier this year, a Chinese-made pet food ingredient was linked to the deaths of cats and dogs in North America. Since then, Chinese goods ranging from toothpaste to tires have been banned or recalled in numerous countries.