Fisher-Price recalls nearly 1 million toys

Toy-maker Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys - including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters - because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.

The recall announced yesterday involves 967,000 plastic preschool toys sold in the United States between May and August. It is the first recall for Fisher-Price and parent company Mattel involving lead paint, and is the largest for Mattel since 1998 when Fisher-Price had to yank about 10 million Power Wheels from toy stores.

On Wednesday, David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price, said the problem was detected by an internal probe and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. The recall is particularly alarming since Mattel, known for its strict quality controls, is considered a role model in the toy industry.