Health Scares: September 2007 Archives

So have you heard about the massive recalls of toys made in China?  I take product Quality Assurance seriously, so when I heard about this, I wondered what had gone wrong.  Were the toys broken?  Did the toys suffer from some kind of manufacturing defect which renders them unusable?  Did the packaging not match the color of the toys inside?

As it turns out, it was none of these things.  It turns out that crybaby consumers are getting worked up over something that they cannot even see.  Something that does not affect the "playability" of the toys in any way.  It turns out that consumers are up in arms over something the toys are made with: lead.

Surely by now, you're shaking your head–How can that be?  But sadly, it's true.  The toys look fine.  They function fine.  They smell just fine.  But now some know-nothing consumers are up in arms because they don't like the way the toys are made.  They say that the lead is poison.  Well don't eat it, genius!  The glass and steel found in modern households are also dangerous if you eat them, but come on!   Show some common sense and some Personal Responsibility.

Look, I'm all for customer safety.  At my former position as Northeast Manager of Food Distribution for one of this nations top snack food producers, I vigorously supported the "no-glass" guarantee policy.  But this is lead we're talking about.  You cannot cut yourself on lead.  You cannot shoot yourself with lead.  You cannot trip and fall over lead.  It is an all-natural chemical that is all around us.