The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday issued a warning against Fisher-Price toys that were banned in the United States for containing paint with excessive levels of lead.
The DOH posted in its website www.doh.gov.ph the list of the products ordered recalled by the US government.
In an alert issued by the DOH’s Bureau of Health Devices and Technology (BHDT), Secretary Francisco Duque III said the bureau “does not endorse either the product or the company.”
The banned products were manufactured between April 19 to July 6 and were sold alone or as part of sets.
“The model names and product numbers of the toys, which were manufactured in China and marked with ‘Fisher-Price,’ have a date code between 109-7LF and 187-7LF marked on the product or packaging,” the alert stated.
These products were banned because of their surface paints believed to contain “excessive levels of lead.” Too much exposure to lead can affect a child’s intelligence quotient and can even cause death.
In a telephone interview, BHDT director Agnette Peralta said the DOH is coordinating with Ban Kee Trading Inc. Philippines, the distributor of Fisher-Price in the country, to determine if the banned products were exported to the Philippines.
“We are waiting for their reply. But for the meantime, we are issuing this devise alert to warn people against these products,” she added.