Fast food chain McDonald's today recalled 12 million drinking glasses it is selling to promote the new Shrek movie because painted designs on the collectable items contain the toxic metal cadmium.
The glasses, a promotion for the Shrek Forever After film, were available in the US in four designs depicting the characters Shrek, Princess Fiona, Puss in Boots and Donkey.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which announced the voluntary recall, warned people to stop using the glasses immediately.
McDonald's said it would post instructions on its website next week regarding refunds for the glasses which sold for two dollars in the US.
The CPSC said that "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects."
Cadmium is a known carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems.
In the case of the glasses, the potential danger would be 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.
Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint. A US McDonald's spokesman said a pigment in paint on the glasses contained cadmium.
"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," said the CPSC. It would not say how much cadmium leached from the paint in tests, but said the amounts were "slightly above the protective level currently being developed by the agency."
It said the glasses have "far less cadmium than the children's metal jewellery that CPSC has previously recalled."
Concerns about cadmium exposure emerged in January, when some items of children's jewellery sold at major national chains contained up to 91 per cent of the metal. Safety experts fear that children could ingest cadmium by biting, sucking or even swallowing contaminated pendants and bracelets.
The consumer protection agency has issued three recalls this year for jewellery in the US, all the products were made in China.
Around seven million of the Shrek glasses have been sold; another five million are in stores or warehouses.
McDonald's said it was asking customers to stop using the glasses "out of an abundance of caution."
"We believe the Shrek glassware is safe for consumer use," their spokesman said. "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."
The recall does not affect Ireland.
AP