Bindeez toy ban spreads across world

By staff writers

November 09, 2007 10:55am

AUTHORITIES around the world have begun recalling Bindeez toys following two cases in which children in North America fell into comas after eating the Chinese-made beads.

The move comes after Australian authorities discovered this week that the toys contained a substance that metabolised into the date-rape drug fantasy or GHB when eaten.

In North America, 4.2 million packages of the beads, known as Aqua Dots there and Bindeez elsewhere, have been recalled.

Two US children slipped into comas after swallowing the Aqua Dot beads, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said the children had gone into "unresponsive, comatose" conditions but had since recovered.

"The coating on the beads that causes the beads to stick to each other when water is added contains a chemical that can turn toxic when many are ingested,'' the commission said.

"Children who swallow the beads can become comatose, develop respiratory depression, or have seizures.''

The commission did not say what the chemical was but Australian officials said the toys released a substance that metabolised into the date-rape drug GHB when swallowed.

Four Australian children were taken to hospital after falling unconscious when they ingested the beads.

The Australian company behind the product, Moose Enterprises, has issued a voluntary recall, saying children's health is of paramount importance.

Spanish authorities have also ordered the toy kits to be recalled.

The National Consumers Institute did not say how many toys were affected by the recall.

British stores began taking the popular toy off their shelves on Wednesday.

Toys R Us said it had pulled all the toy beads from its stores in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.

Consumer and enterprise chiefs from the European Union and United States will meet in Washington today to agree on worldwide standards for global toy safety after a spate of recalls of Chinese-made toys.

An 18-month-old NSW boy is the latest child in Australia to fall ill after eating the beads.

He is in a stable condition in Newcastle's John Hunter Hospital.

"I can't stress loudly enough, across Australia we have banned the product from sale and the ban is now extending around the world," NSW Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney said.

Two New Zealand toddlers have also fallen ill after swallowing the beads.

- Reuters, AFP, AAP