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Australia bans toy over GHB fears GHB fears for Chinese-made toys
(1 day later)
Australia has issued a nationwide ban on a Chinese-made toy after it was found to contain a substance linked to the date-rape drug GHB. Millions of Chinese-made toys have been recalled in the US and Australia after they were found to contain a substance linked to the date-rape drug GHB.
Three children have been taken to hospital after swallowing tiny beads from the Bindeez game - one of the best-selling toys in Australia. A total of five children were taken to hospital after swallowing tiny beads known as Bindeez in Australia and Aqua Dots in the US.
The beads were coated in chemicals which transformed into the banned drug when swallowed.The beads were coated in chemicals which transformed into the banned drug when swallowed.
It is the latest in a series of safety scares over products made in China.It is the latest in a series of safety scares over products made in China.
US toy maker Mattel has recalled more than 20 million Chinese-made toys this year.US toy maker Mattel has recalled more than 20 million Chinese-made toys this year.
Money-back pledge Coloured beads
Two children in New South Wales and one child in Queensland have been hospitalised over the past two weeks. The toy has proved extremely popular in both countries. In 2007, Bindeez was named Australia's Toy of the Year.
All three have now recovered, but all of Australia's states and territories have now banned the toy. The toy consists of hundreds of brightly-coloured beads that can be arranged into a piece of art and sprayed with water to set.
Moose Enterprise, the firm which imported the Bindeez, confirmed it had recalled one-million toys.
The Bindeez toy consists of hundreds of brightly-coloured beads that can be arranged into a piece of art and sprayed with water to set.
The beads are meant to be coated in a non-toxic glue, but a batch in Australia was found to be covered with a substance that did not match the approved formula.The beads are meant to be coated in a non-toxic glue, but a batch in Australia was found to be covered with a substance that did not match the approved formula.
A spokesman for Moose Enterprise said the infected batch was likely to be confined to Australia. In Australia, two children in New South Wales and one child in Queensland have been hospitalised in the past two weeks after swallowing the beads.
All three have now recovered, but all of the country's states and territories have now banned the toy.
In the US, two children were affected, the Consumer Product Safety Commission warned. They slipped into comas, but later recovered.
About 4.2 million units of the toy will be recalled in the US, officials said, and about one million in Australia.
Australian-based manufacturer Moose Enterprises said the toys were made at a factory in southern China's Guangdong province.
The firm said Bindeez beads would in future be covered with a "foul-tasting ingredient" to try to ensure children would not eat them.The firm said Bindeez beads would in future be covered with a "foul-tasting ingredient" to try to ensure children would not eat them.
The fair trading minister in New South Wales, Linda Burney, said an investigation was under way to determine how batches of the China-made beads failed to match the approved formula. The fair trading minister in Australia's New South Wales, Linda Burney, said an investigation was under way to determine how batches of the Chinese-made beads failed to match the approved formula.
She added that customers who bought the toys would have their money refunded, at a cost of millions of dollars.