Toy tainted with date rape drug recalled

[Cookiely]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/08/toy.recall/index.html

[southerngale]

From China... imagine that.

[Ptarmigan]

Now, how could that happen? I guess China decided it's better to taint products than wage war against America.

[gtalum]

Now, how could that happen?

It's China's quest for cost-cutting, with no regulation. With the dollar plummeting in value and American importers still screaming for lower prices, they just go to cheaper and cheaper materials with no regard for safety.

These toys weren't actually tainted with GHB. They were painted with a coating that contains 1,4-butanediol, a common very inexpensive industrial solvent. The problem is that if this solvent is ingested, two enzymes in our bodies turn it into GHB and some other waste products.

The moral of the story: stop buying Chinese, and force American retailers to find other sources for their products. This will in turn force China (and everyone else) to adopt better quality control to regain the business.