Cars Backpacks Recall

Target Corp., the second-largest U.S. discount chain, and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is recalling 110,000 Chinese-made "Cars" movie-themed backpacks

The backpacks, sold at Target stores from February through September for $13 each, have game pieces with magnets that may become loose and may be swallowed by children.

Ugly Teeth Recalled

Factory Card & Party Outlet Corp. announced a voluntary nationwide recall of approximately 2,500 "Ugly Teeth" Halloween party favors. The products may contain unsafe levels of lead. The recalled product, purchased from JCS Hong Kong Limited, can be identified by the Universal Product Code 0-48419-65002-7, which appears below the bar code on the back of the package.

Information about this recall is available on Factory Card's web site. Consumers may also call the company's consumer services hotline at 888-840-8066 between 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. Central Time beginning October 30th.

China Arrests 774 in Shoddy Products Crackdown

China has arrested 774 people in an effort to stem the tide of shoddy product being made in the country. The arrests resulted from 626 criminal investigations related to the manufacture and sale of fake and substandard products. 200 illegal food companies were also shutdown during the crackdown.

Starbucks Recalls Cups

Starbucks is recalling China-made cups. The cups, which have molded plastic animal faces representing a ladybird, a turtle, a bunny and a chick and have a plastic top, are being recalled because they pose a choking hazard for children.

Starbucks said consumers may contact the company through its Web site, www.starbucks.com, for information on returning the cups for a refund.

23 Filipino Children Fell Ill to Chinese Candies

Twenty-three Filipino children, hailing from Bantayan Island in Cebu, fell ill last week after eating candied made in Guandong, China. The children, who complained of vomiting, stomachache and dizziness, got sick after eating Ube Milk Candies, which were given to them during a party.

New Toy Recalls

• About 35,000 Baby Einstein Discover & Play Color Blocks, distributed by Kids II Inc. The blocks were sold around the country between June and September. For more information, or to arrange for a free replacement block, call 866-203-6788 or visit http://www.kidsii.com.
• About 79,000 "Pirates of the Caribbean" medallion squeeze lights, imported by the Eveready Battery Co., a brand of Energizer Holdings, Inc. The flashlights were sold nationwide and online between September 2006 and October 2007. For more information, or to receive a voucher for another Eveready product, call 800-925-0628 or visit http://www.Energizer.com.
• About 15,000 Totally Me! Funky Room Decor Sets, manufactured by Hong Kong-based CKI Toys and imported by Toys "R" Us Inc. The kits were sold at Toys "R" Us stores around the country and on the company's Web site between May and September 2007. Return the sets to any Toys "R" Us store in exchange for store credit. For more information, call 800-869-7787 or visit http://www.toysrus.com.
• About 10,000 wooden Pull-Along Alphabet & Math Blocks wagons, Pull-Along Learning Blocks wagons, 10-in-1 Activity Learning Carts and Flip-Flop alphabet blocks, imported by KB Toys Inc. The toys were sold at KB Toys stores around the country between August 2005 and September 2007. Return the toys to any KB Toys store in exchange for store credit. For more information call 888-843-9520 or visit http://www.recall.kbtinfo.com.
• About 63,000 green, plastic cups shaped like Frankenstein's head, imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc. The cups were sold at Dollar general stores around the country in September. For a refund or replacement product, return the key chains to the place of purchase. For more information, call 800-678-9258 or visit http://www.dollargeneral.com.
• About 192,000 key chains imported by Dollar General Merchandising Inc. The key chains feature a metal charm engraved with "wisdom," "truth," "believe," "love," "hope" or "dream." They were sold at Dollar General stores around the country between June 2005 and August 2007. For a refund or replacement product, return the key chains to the place of purchase. For more information, call 800-678-9258 or visit http://www.dollargeneral.com.
• About 150,000 bookmarks and journals, imported by Antioch Publishing. The products feature a variety of decorations including breast cancer awareness and Winnie the Pooh. The bookmarks and journals were sold at book, card and gift stores around the country between March 2005 and October 2007. Some of the bookmarks were sold with bracelets. For more information, or to arrange for a refund, call 800-543-1515 or visit http://www.antioch.com.
• About 11,200 Alpine Design aluminum water bottles imported by The Sports Authority Inc. The water bottles are decorated with pink flowers, a mouse or a zebra. They were sold at Sports Authority stores around the country between April 2006 and September 2007. For a full refund, return the bottles to a Sports Authority store. For more information, visit http://www.sportsauthority.com.

The Man who Started it All

International Herald Tribune has the story of Eduardo Arias, the Panamanian who discovered the diethylene glycol (DEG)-tainted toothpaste from China. DEG is a common anti-freeze and is toxic to humans.

Arias' discovery led to the recall of millions of tubes of toothpaste in 34 countries, including the United States. DEG was also discovered to have been mixed in cough syrup, which led to the deaths of 138 Panamanians last year.