Bermuda's Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) has announced the recall of various Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer and other children's toys after they were recalled en masse in the US due to excessive levels of lead paint.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), lead may cause numerous health effects, from behavioural problems and learning disabilities, to seizures and death.

The head of the Chinese manufacturer that's responsible for the potentially lethal toys, killed himself on Monday, authorities there have reported, fuelling growing speculation on the safety of Chinese-made products.

The toys affected were manufactured between April 19, 2007 and July 6, 2007 and were sold alone or as part of sets. "Fisher Price" is the brandname of the toys.

Bermuda's Consumer Protection Act 1999, empowers the OCA to demand the removal by retail outlets, of hazardous products from store shelves.

The Act is in conjunction with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), with the OCA, falling under the Ministry of Community and Cultural Afairs. However, according to OCA officials, they have not had to flex its legislative muscle, as those few stores found with the affected toys, have been quick to remove them from their shelves.

There are 81 toys and figures included in the recall and may have a date code between 109-7LF and 187-7LF marked on the product of packaging.

This date code is not immediately noticable and the number is imprinted on the bottom of the packaging that's located near the product code.

OCA contacted the majority of toy retailers on the Island and advised them of the recall. The Annex Toys store on Reid Street, Hamilton, the largest in Bermuda, reportedly removed eight packages from its shelves either because they coincided with the alert or appeared suspicious. The company's marketing head, Tina Adderley, told The Royal Gazette: "We've had four toys that we've had to take back to the warehouse, we didn't have a whole lot of them.

"Right now we've only found four toys that's suspected to have lead in it, but we're not sure. If it's stamped with the date then you can clearly check it. "Those items were removed from our shelves last week. Actually, we haven't received any complaints relating to the recall, we've had about three people today that have brought the toys in out of concern, but they checked out to be okay." OCA enforcement officer Rhonda Daniels said: "The main point is that the affected products contain lead paint, which can be quite poisonous, especially to children because of their metabolic rates." When asked how long it took stores, one the recall alert had manifested, to take action, Ms. Daniels added: "Our office got the alert then we checked with the toy stores to see who had them.

"I then personally went out to check and make sure that the products they had, that were stamped with the specific date code, were removed from the shelves.

"Even though there's 81 different products affected and listed, a lot of the products that we found in local toy stores did not have that particular date code on it, I want to stress that." The People's Pharmacy on Victoria Street, Hamilton, which recently enhanced its toy department, was also on the list of stores reported to have some of the black-listed items.

It's understood that store voluntarily removed the items with the targeted date code from its shelves last week and but is continuing to sell similar Fisher Price Brands not affected, a store employee revealed.

To see pictures of the toys in question, log onto www.service.mattel.com. Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and return them to the store from which they purchased them, along with proof of purchase. Consumers who purchased their products off the Island can contact Fisher Price at 1-800-916-4498.

Additionally, tubes of complementary toothpaste that can be found in luxury hotels around in more than 13 countries, including Bermuda, are part of a voluntary recall, after the discovery it has a chemical found in antifreeze. Also manufactured in China, distributed under the brand name Gilchrist & Soames, the toothpaste comes in 18-millimeter or .65-ounce tubes, with the company name on it.

The company said the some samples of the product contained diethylene glycol, a chemical that can lead to liver and kidney damage. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the regulatory body, is specifically warning hotel guests that find the contaminated brand, to immediately and safely dispose of it.

A series of Chinese-made products, from pet food to tires and children's toys, have been under the microscope in recent weeks, because of manufacturing methods that many say are shoddy or dangerous.

China is also shutting down a chemical plant linked to dozens of deaths in Panama from tainted medicine and it closed two companies tied to pet deaths in North America.

Fairmont Hotels and Resorts Bermuda, the Island's largest hotel and resort chain, confirmed yesterday, the poisoned brand of toothpaste was not found to be in any of its properties.

It is unclear if any other hotels and resorts in Bermuda supply the affected brand to any of their guests and according to the OCA, a recall in Bermuda is not underway, unless it's coordinated by the US CSPS.