Mattel must do more to win trust-EU consumer chief
20 Sep 2007 16:25:44 GMT Source: Reuters
By Darren Ennis BRUSSELS, Sept 20 (Reuters) - The European Union's consumer chief warned the world's leading toymaker on Thursday it must do more to rebuild consumer trust following the recall of millions of its products in recent months. "My message to Mattel was that they have a lot of ground to cover to rebuild trust in the toy industry," EU Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said following a meeting with Mattel vice-president Bryan Stockton. Mattel Inc has made three recalls in as many months of millions of its Chinese-made products which contain excessive levels of lead paint and hazardous small magnets, sparking anger and concern among EU consumers. "The challenge for Mattel and for the toy industry is to anticipate problems and weaknesses," Kuneva said in her statement. "They must be very vigilant. I told them that they cannot afford to take a false step, the trust of consumers for their companies is essential." Before the Mattel recalls, a spate of incidents involving unsafe Chinese products ranging from toys and seafood to toothpaste that entered both EU and U.S. markets prompted calls on both sides of the Atlantic for a ban on products "made in China". Kuneva has warned China that failure to address EU concerns over product safety by the end of this month could lead to sanctions, such as a ban on certain Chinese goods. However, she has also laid some of the blame at the door of the bloc's 27 governments and companies which are importing unsafe goods. "The clear legal responsibility is on producers to put only safe products on the market, and no one is going to take that responsibility off their shoulders," Kuneva said. "I have made it clear that in the coming months ... I will not hesitate, if the risk requires, to take further actions or controls at EU level."
