The year Christmas was nearly cancelled
In many ways 2007 was a gamechanger. It was my job to help keep children safe, but toys became so hazardous we nearly had to cancel Christmas.
It was later dubbed The Year of the Recall. Many children’s products were recalled worldwide – for risk of poisoning, ingesting very strong magnets and other serious hazards. Lead was detected in big name toys from well-known brands – even Thomas the Tank Engine toys – and people all around the world were on alert. Product safety was suddenly huge news.
In Australia, there were calls to immediately ban all toys with excessive amounts of lead. The media, politicians and agency executives were all pushing for urgent action. But, the problem of bans that take immediate effect is that retailers have no way of knowing whether products already on their shelves are compliant.
Read how Christmas was saved . . .
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