The Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced that the U.S. Subsidiaries of Daiso, a Japanese retailer, has agreed to pay a fine of $2.05 Million civil penalty and stop importing children’s products due to alleged violations of federal safety laws. Daiso must also demonstrate to the CPSC that it has sufficient knowledge of and is in compliance of CPSC safety standards and testing requirements.
Daiso California LLC and Daiso Seattle LLC have had a total of five recalls for 698 toys and other children’s products since 2008. These recalls were for lead, phthalates, strangulation and choking hazards. This is a relatively small number of products recalled compared to the several million recalled by Mattel in 2007, of which Mattel was only fined $2.3 Million.
“This landmark agreement for the injunction sets a precedent for any firm attempting to distribute hazardous products to our nation’s children,” Commission Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum said. “We are committed to the safety of children’s products, and we will use the full force of our enforcement powers to prevent the sale of harmful products.”
A senior executive at Daiso said the company accepts the fine and wants to make sure the products it imports are safe.
I would recommend that Daiso utilize X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) Analyzers as part of a reasonable testing/safety program to help determine if their products have harmful regulated metals such as lead or cadmium in their consumer products. XRF Analyzers can help detect if elements are present of not present, they are non-destructive, accurate and a cost effective solution that can helping save businesses money while providing information that can ultimately lead to compliance with regulations.
You can visit Daiso’s web page about their recalls at www.daisorecall.com
