Mass Toy Recall

The company said Tuesday it was recalling more than 18 million Chinese-made toys worldwide because they have small magnets that could detach and be swallowed by children, causing injuries.

Mattel in Germany said it was recalling 1 million toys from the German market. Nearly 2 million toys sold in Britain and Ireland were being recalled due to concerns linked to small magnetic toys. Recalls of thousands of toys were also confirmed in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg.

A total of 18.2 million toys around the world are being recalled, the company said.

The European Commission, which oversees consumer safety across the European Union, said it had not been notified of any

recalls under RAPEX, the bloc's rapid alert system under which

countries must immediately report any cases of unsafe products.

US toy market badly hit

More than 9 million of the toys, which include Barbie and Batman

figures, are being recalled in the United States and Canada, and the rest in other countries, Mattel said in a statement.

The recalls -- the second this month -- have also hit Mattel toys in America. More than 250,000 jeep-like toy cars sold as promotional products for the animated film Cars were recalled because they contain more lead than US rules allow.

Mattel also recalled about 1 million Fisher-Price brand toys, including some Sesame Street characters, on August 1 because of lead paint.

"I'm deeply apologetic to everyone affected," Mattel chief executive Bob Eckert said in a videotaped statement. "We'll continue to enforce ... the highest level of quality and safety."

If children swallow or inhale several magnets, the parts could

bond inside the body and block or injure the intestine, said Nancy

Nord, head of the US government's Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Most of the recall, 7.3 million items, involves Polly Pocket doll

sets. In November, Mattel recalled 2.4 million of the toy sets in the

US and Canada after three reports of serious injuries to children who swallowed more than one magnet. The children, aged two to eight, suffered intestinal perforations that required surgery, the government said.

Mattel has stepped up testing of paint and finished toys at its

vendors since the November recall, Eckert said. The company has also developed ways to attach magnets more firmly, he said.

Chinese-made products take battering

Problems with Chinese products, including tainted pet food, seafood for human consumption and toothpaste, have generated bad publicity in the United States and Europe in recent months and underscored consumers' dependence on competitively priced imports from China.

The food scandals in particular have led to calls in the US for

tighter supervision of Chinese imports. Chinese authorities say they have taken steps to boost product safety.

Last week, the co-owner of a Chinese toymaker killed himself after products from his plant were included in the Fisher-Price recall.

In July, China executed the former head of its state food and drug

administration after convicting him of corruption. He reportedly took bribes from companies to certify drugs that were not fully tested.