PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad Express):

The Trinidad and Tobago Bureau of Standards (TTBS) says it intends to pay closer attention to toys coming into the country from China and other countries to ensure that substandard toys do not get into the hands of children.

Prem Nandlal, executive director of the TTBS, told the Express on Monday that the bureau intends to step up its inspection methods of toys coming into the country after almost a million toys were pulled off shelves in the United States because they were coated with excessive amounts of lead-laden paint.

The world's largest toymaker, Mattel's Fisher-Price division, took a decision last week to recall the toys which were made in China and were based on popular characters such as Big Bird, Elmo, Dora, SpongeBob SquarePants and Barney Best Manners.

A closer working relationship

The toys were reportedly sold at retail stores throughout the United States during the May to August period.

Nandlal said: "In light of what has happened, we would have to pay more closer attention to toys coming in. We also intend to work more closely with the Bureau of Standards in China because we have a lot of toys and products coming in from that country."

Nandlal also said that field officers from the TTBS also began checking various toy stores on Monday to see if they had any of the contaminated toys that had been imported here.

"The team began visiting stores in the north-western peninsula, we will then be coming down to the east and so on. We do not have the capacity to visit every store in the country. Fisher-Price toys are very expensive, so we would be checking around in mostly those high-end stores and malls which would most likely sell these products."