Breaking News – McDonalds Recalls Shrek Glasses
In conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), McDonald’s announced this morning that it is recalling 12 million promotional glasses that have been sold in stores since May 21. The glasses were promoting the new movie “Shrek Forever After,” but were found to have cadmium in the designs painted onto the items.
The CPSC stated in the recall notice that “long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects.” Both McDonald’s and the CPSC said that the potential danger in the glasses now being recalled 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. “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.
Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint, and McDonald’s USA spokesman Bill Whitman said a pigment in paint on the glasses contained low levels of cadmium. McDonald’s reported that about 7 million of the glasses had already been sold, and it would be posting a notice on its website next week about refunds for those glasses. The glasses were manufactured and sold to McDonald’s by ARC International, an unlisted manufacturer based in Millville, NJ.
This recall highlights the dangers of sourcing promotional products from companies that are not affiliated with major industry organizations such as the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) or the Promotional Products Association International (PPAI), both of which are actively engaged in educating and informing their members about compliance with product safety requirements.
Quintain Marketing is a Member of both ASI and PPAI. We are taking a proactive stance on product safety and have voluntarily subscribed to the Promotional Products Association International’s (PPAI) Code of Conduct. The Code is a comprehensive document that voluntarily commits PPAI members to operating in a responsible manner. It addresses such workplace issues as conditions, environment, labor, hours and wages, and product safety. The PPAI Code of Conduct has helped us to spell out the policies and procedures we have put in place to ensure that both we and our clients comply with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and California’s Proposition 65.
For more information or to view our Code of Conduct, please click here.