August 23, 2007
Et Tu, SpongeBob?
First it was Thomas. Then came Elmo & Dora. Now the furor over tainted toys made in China has reached yet another beloved children's character -- SpongeBob SquarePants.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a new recall of more than 300,000 items manufactured in China, including a quarter of a million address books and journals featuring the blue-eyed, yellow-visaged Nickelodeon character, because of concerns about excessive levels of lead. China, meanwhile, appears to be growing weary of all the product safety accusations coming from the United States and is now claiming U.S. soybeans are tainted with pesticides and poisonous weeds, AP reports.
Reuters has more on the latest toy recall. And Slate has a report on why protecting American children from lead poisoning will require more than just avoiding the "Made in China" label.
