China said Thursday it has suspended exports by two local producers after US company Mattel recalled millions of Chinese-made toys tainted with lead paint.
Hansheng Woodware Factory and Lee Der Industrial Co, both based in southern China, cannot export until they "correct the problems and become qualified," the quality administration said in a statement on its website.
Last week, Fisher-Price, a subsidiary of Mattel, recalled 967,000 toys, including popular Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer-branded models sold in US stores between May and August this year.
The toys, made by Lee Der Industrial, were believed to contain poisonous lead paint. In the statement, the quality watchdog blamed Lee Der's paint supplier for providing "fake lead-free paint powder" for the problem.
The police are investigating the case and those who have violated the law will "be handed over to the judicatory department for severe punishment," it added. The other factory, Hansheng Woodware, made 1.5 million wooden "Thomas the Train" figures for US toy importer RC2 Corp and those products were recalled by the US company in June for similar fears over lead paint.
"We will do what the quality administration told us to do," said a staff member at Hansheng, who declined to give her name. She said the export suspension was temporary.
Lee Der turned down repeated requests for comment. Despite the latest safety scare over "Made in China," the administration defended the country's toy products and called for the overseas importers and brand owners to also shoulder responsibility.
"The overwhelming majority of toys made in China meet US standards. Of about 300,000 batches for export in 2006, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission only made about 29 recalls," it said.