By Darren EnnisBRUSSELS, Aug 2 (Reuters) - The European Commission alerted European Union countries on Thursday to a recall by toymaker Mattel Inc. <MAT.N> of 1.5 million of its Chinese-made toys. The World's No. 1 toymaker announced on Wednesday the worldwide recall of toys made by Mattel's Fisher-Price unit -- including popular Sesame Street characters Elmo and Big Bird -- over concerns their paint may contain too much lead. Lead paint has been linked to health problems in children, including brain damage. Mattel is asking U.S. consumers and sellers to return 967,000 plastic toys and is recalling another 533,000 from other countries, including Britain, Canada and Mexico. "We have been informed of the problem and under the EU's RAPEX system we have alerted all 27 member states and asked them to monitor and inform us if they find any cases of these toys," a spokeswoman for the European Commission said. RAPEX is the bloc's rapid alert system under which countries must immediately report any cases of unsafe products. In 2006, 48 percent of all products notified under RAPEX originated in China. EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva warned on a visit to Beijing last month that the 27-nation bloc would take measures and even ban Chinese products if the situation did not improve. The warning came after both the EU and U.S. stepped up controls on Chinese imports following increased concerns over unsafe items such as toothpaste, medicine and seafood, found with the "Made in China" label attached.
