McDonald's has issued a recall for its collectible Shrek Forever After glasses in both the US and Canada after government tests discovered the presence of carcinogenic cadmium.
According to Associated Press (via AOL), the US Consumer Product Safety Commission warned people to immediately stop using the 16 ounce glasses due to the toxic substance being discovered in the red and yellow paint. The four collectible designs feature the characters Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey from the DreamWorks Animation film, which has topped the North American box office for the past two weeks.
"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," announced CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson. He would not specify how much cadmium had leached from the paint in tests, but said the amounts were "slightly above the protective level currently being developed by the agency."
Consumers are instructed to immediately stop using the glasses, and McDonald's said it would post instructions on its website next week on how consumers could get their money refunded.
Although McDonald's claimed the glasses – manufactured by ARC International of Millville, New Jersey – were safe for consumer use, the restaurant chain says it's participating in the recall "out of an abundance of caution."
"We believe the Shrek glassware is safe for consumer use," said McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman. "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."
McDonald's Cadmium-Laced Shrek Forever After Glasses Still Being Sold in Canada
According to the CPSC, "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Symptoms of cadmium poisoning include renal failure, bone softening, severe kidney problems, flu-like symptoms, loss of sense of smell and cancer.
As for the Shrek-themed glassware, the potential danger would be from 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.
Wolfson admitted that the glasses contained “far less cadmium than the children’s metal jewelry that CPSC has previously recalled.” In January, the organization recalled Chinese-made children's jewelry that contained 91% of the metal. The toxic jewelry had been sold at several national chains, including Wal-Mart and Claire's.
But, according to Lesley Ciarula Taylor of the Toronto Star, some McDonald's hadn't received the memo: the reporter bought two of the glasses at a store in Toronto's Eaton Centre. The employee who sold the glasses admitted knowing about the recall in the US, but hadn't heard about one in Canada.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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