Shrek glass recall - Beware ogres bearing cadmium

Children the world over know and love the cantankerous Hollywood ogre known as “Shrek,” but following the recent Shrek glass recall, children may need to worry about the health standards of the denizens of Far, Far Away. The Shrek glasses were shown to have the toxic metal cadmium within the character paint, which is a distressing turn in the promotion of the “Shrek Forever After” film. Federal regulators found the toxic metal in the paint, and now a 12 million Shrek glass recall is underway, reports the Los Angeles Times.

Each $ 2 Shrek recall glass is infected

The Shrek glass recall is going to put the squeeze on each and every participating McDonald’s restaurant across the U.S., because child safety is of the utmost importance. Congresswoman Jackie Speier of California got the ball rolling on the Shrek glass recall after receiving an anonymous tip. Rep. Speier received an anonymous tip regarding the possible presence of cadmium, and she in turn informed the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). Cadmium itself is a toxic metal that can cause kidney, lung, intestinal and bone damage. Why cadmium was found and where the Shrek glasses came from have yet to be revealed by the Kingdom of the Big Mac.

CPSC found cadmium and pressured McDonald’s into Shrek glass recall. Consumers have been urged to keep the Shrek glass recall items away from children and to return them to McDonald’s for a full refund.

Busting McDonald’s chops

If McDonald’s and other companies pay more careful heed to “thoroughly reviewing their domestic and international supply chains to keep products with potentially dangerous elements from ever hitting their shelves,” said Rep. Speier, it will come none too soon.

Cadmium traces found in toys and jewelry

Cadmium-tainted jewelry has prompted recalls at big-box stores like Wal-Mart before. Previously recalled discount children’s toys have also been found to be contaminated by the toxic metal. These are typically the kinds of toys that do not require parents to take out installment loans with no credit check to be able to afford them. Legislation banning the use of cadmium has been championed by lawmakers like Rep. Speier, by the way. Paying attention to things like cadmium following the Shrek glass recall will hopefully be on the front burner for corporate monoliths like McDonald’s from this point forward.

Citations

latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-mcdonalds-recall-20100604,0,1192411.story

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadmium