U.S. toy maker Mattel Inc. said Friday it is recalling in some Asian countries toys featuring the popular characters Barney, Dora and Diego because they may contain excessive amounts of lead in their paint, AP reported. The action is part of a worldwide recall announced Wednesday by Mattel division Fisher-Price that involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States between May and August. Some of the U.S. toys in the recall are based on popular Sesame Street characters such as Big Bird and Elmo. Out of the recall of 83 models, six types have been recalled in the Philippines, four in Singapore, three in Malaysia and one in Indonesia, said Mattel Southeast Asia Marketing Manager Cheok Ching Won in Kuala Lumpur. «We have already informed all our retailers in the region, in those countries where the products are affected, and all affected products (have) already been pulled off the shelves,» Cheok said. Cheok said the impact of the recall in Asia was limited. «They are very a small fraction of it ... because they're not our core toys, and they're in very small quantities,» she said. She did not have a figure of how many toys were recalled in Asia.
