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The Disney Corporation has decided to start conducting tests of toys featuring Disney characters in light of the recent Mattel toy recall. Nickelodeon and Sesame Workshop have also started testing toys based on their trademark characters.

Disney said it made the decision to start conducting its own testing of toys featuring Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and other popular characters last week. The decision came shortly after the Consumer Products Safety Commission announced the third recall of lead-tainted Mattel toys in a five week period. Among the toys recalled for lead paint were die cast cars based on a character from the Disney movie "Cars".

Saying that it wants toy manufactures to "know that we're looking over their shoulders", Disney said the tests will begin within two weeks. How extensive those tests will be is unclear as Disney toys are made by 2,000 different companies. Disney has indicated that it will test the biggest selling toys most frequently.

Nickelodeon's Dora the Explorer and Spongebob Squarepants, along with Sesame Workshop's Elmo and Big Bird were featured on toys recalled by Mattel in August. Even Toy 'R' Us no longer trusts toy manufacturers and has announced that it will be begin random tests of all products sold in its toy stores.

In addition to Mattel's three recalls, the RC2 company recalled more than 1 million Thomas and Friends toy trains for a lead hazard in June. Exposure to lead can cause brain damage and other problems in young children, and the US all but banned the toxin from toys nearly 30 years ago. But many toy manufacturers have moved their operations to China, where most of the recalled toys originated.

Reference:

"Disney To Start Testing Toys Following Mattel Recalls," NewsInferno, September 2007.