Angry in the Great White North

I watch plenty of children's television, and so when I read about the Australian recall of Bindeez, I immediately recognized the toy:

Australia announced a nationwide ban on Wednesday on a Chinese-made toy which investigations showed contained a chemical which metabolizes into a “date rape” style drug when swallowed.

The ban across Australia's six states and two territories came after three children became severely ill after they swallowed the toy beads called Bindeez.

Toy importer Moose Enterprise issued a voluntary recall of Bindeez, named Australia's 2007 Toy of the Year, saying some batches of the beads did not match the approved formula.

[New South Wales Fair Trading Minister Linda Burney] said an investigation was under way into how the dangerous chemical 1,4-butanediol came to replace the safe chemical 1,5-pentanediol in the manufacturing process.

“The issue of how a dangerous substance was used in these beads and not the non-toxic substance ... that is going to take us a few more days to uncover,” she said.

Here is a picture of Bindeez, as it is being recalled in Australia:

In Canada, Toys 'R Us is selling Aqua Dots, and the product is being advertised on television:

Same product? Sure looks like it.

Are Canadians children, even as I type this, injesting date rape drugs?

Hopefully our version of Bindeez aka Aqua Dots is made at a different factory and is not dangerous, but who knows? Is anyone checking?

Or are we about to go through the Colgate toothpaste scare all over again?

Update: Bindeez and Aqua Dots are the same product:

Moose Enterprises is recalling its award winning Bindeez craft system—sold by Spin Master as Aqua Dots in the U.S.—in its home country following incidents there in which children, having swallowed Bindeez beads, were sickened after a chemical in the beads metabolized into gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), the drug better known as “Liquid Ecstasy,” according to media reports.

The Bindeez/Aqua Dots system lets kids create art using beads that chemically fuse together after being sprayed with water. The line’s core product, Super Station (pictured), was recently named the 2007 Toy of the Year by the Australian Toy Association.

Aqua Dots have not been recalled in the U.S.

Nor have they been recalled in Canada.

Update: No official recall yet, but Toys 'R Us is pulling the Aqua Dots product in Canada:

After all the publicity about the recalls of toxic toys from China and the danger of lead poisoning for kids who use them, comes a story out of Australia that raises concern to a whole new level and has already had an impact in Canada.

Officials in the land Down Under have ordered a popular plaything made in the Far East called back after it was discovered it contained a chemical that turns into a powerful date rape drug if it's ingested by children. At least three youngsters have already been sent to hospital suffering from the effects of gamma hydroxy butyrate or GHB.

The specific toy isn't sold in Canada but a similar one called Aqua Dots is. While no official recall has been issued here, Toys 'R Us has voluntarily pulled that product from its shelves because it's made by the same company that manufactures the Aussie item in question. Parents here who have the toy are advised to think twice before letting their kids play with it.

   

Hopefully Canadian consumers who have already purchased the product will be made aware of the potential risk.

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