LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Cadmium has been discovered in the painted
design on "Shrek"-themed drinking glasses being sold nationwide at
McDonald's, forcing the burger giant to recall 12 million of the
cheap U.S.-made collectibles while dramatically expanding
contamination concerns about the toxic metal beyond imported
children's jewelry.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the
voluntary recall early Friday, warned consumers to immediately stop
using the glasses; McDonald's said it would post instructions on
its website next week regarding refunds.
The 16-ounce glasses, being sold for about $2 each as part of a
promotional campaign for the movie "Shrek Forever After," were
available in four designs depicting the characters Shrek, Princess
Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey.
In the animated comedy, which debuted May 21 as the latest
installment of the successful DreamWorks Animation franchise, the
voice of Shrek is performed by Mike Myers of "Austin Powers" fame,
Cameron Diaz performs as Princess Fiona, Antonio Banderas as Puss
in Boots and Eddie Murphy voices Donkey. The movie has been No. 1
at the box office since its release.
The CPSC noted in its recall notice that "long-term exposure to
cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Cadmium is a known
carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and
severe kidney problems.
In the case of the Shrek-themed glassware, the potential danger
would be long-term exposure to low levels of cadmium, which could
leach from the paint onto a child's hand, then enter the body if
the child puts that unwashed hand to his or her mouth.
Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint.
McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said a pigment in paint on
the glasses contained cadmium.
"A very small amount of cadmium can come to the surface of the
glass, and in order to be as protective as possible of children,
CPSC and McDonald's worked together on this recall," said CPSC
spokesman Scott Wolfson. He would not specify the amounts of
cadmium that leached from the paint in tests, but said the amounts
were "slightly above the protective level currently being developed
by the agency."
Wolfson said the glasses have "far less cadmium than the
children's metal jewelry that CPSC has previously recalled."
Concerns about cadmium exposure emerged in January, when The
Associated Press reported that some items of children's jewelry
sold at major national chains contained up to 91 percent of the
metal. Federal regulators worry that kids could ingest cadmium by
biting, sucking or even swallowing contaminated pendants and
bracelets.
The consumer protection agency has issued three recalls this
spring for jewelry highlighted in the AP stories, including
products sold at Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer; at
Claire's, a major jewelry and accessories chain in North America
and Europe; and at discount and dollar stores.
Those recalls all involved children's metal jewelry -- and all
of that jewelry was made in China.
Manufactured by ARC International of Millville, N.J., the
glasses were to be sold from May 21 into June. Roughly seven
million of the glasses had been sold; another approximately five
million are in stores or have not yet been shipped, said
Whitman.
Associated Press reporters tried unsuccessfully to buy the
glasses late Thursday at McDonald's in New York, Los Angeles and
northern New Jersey but were alternately told the merchandise was
sold out, no longer available or "there'll be more tomorrow."
The company that makes the drinking glasses said it only learned
of the problem late Thursday and will look into it. Tom Reed, vice
president of human resources at Arc International's plant in
Millville, N.J., said the company received a copy of a McDonald's
memo on the recall but has not heard anything else.
Reed would not say where the paint was made or whether it's used
in Arc's other products. Arc is based in France and owns the Pyrex
brand of cookware in Europe.
McDonald's said it was asking customers to stop using the
glasses "out of an abundance of caution."
"We believe the Shrek glassware is safe for consumer use,"
Whitman said. "However, again to ensure that our customers receive
safe products from us, we made the decision to stop selling them
and voluntarily recall these products effective immediately."
Whitman said that as the CPSC develops new protocols and
standards for cadmium in consumer products, "we adjust as necessary
to ensure that our customers can continue to trust what they
receive from McDonald's."
Federal scrutiny of the glasses began last week. The Washington
office of U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat who has
proposed strictly limiting cadmium in jewelry, received what a
spokesman described as an anonymous tip that testing with an X-ray
gun that estimates how much cadmium an item contains indicated the
metal was present in the glass paint. Speier's office requested
samples of the glasses from the tipster, and upon receiving them
May 27 sent them to the CPSC for further investigation.
"Our children's health should not depend on the consciences of
anonymous sources," Speier said in a statement Friday. "Although
McDonald's did the right thing by recalling these products, we need
stronger testing standards to ensure that all children's products
are proven safe before they hit the shelves."
The Associated Press National Investigative Team can be reached
at investigate(at)ap.org. Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill
in Millville, N.J., contributed to this report.