Manufacturing
Jewelers & Suppliers of America (MJSA) has alerted its members about a
third recall of children’s jewelry containing high levels of cadmium.

The voluntary recall,
announced by the Consumer
Product Safety Commission on May 10, involves 19,000 “Best
Friends” charm bracelet sets made in China by Dae Yeon Industries Corp.,
and sold at the jewelry and accessories chain Claire’s Boutiques, of Hoffman
Estates, Ill.

The CPSC reports that the charms attached to the bracelets contain high
levels of cadmium, which is toxic if ingested by children.

The CPSC advised consumers to immediately take the recalled bracelets away from
children and return the charms. The bracelets were sold exclusively at Claire’s
from February 2009 through January 2010 for about $12.

In addition, CPSC told the Associated Press that its investigation into cadmium
in children’s jewelry has grown more serious, with port inspectors now
regularly screening children’s jewelry for cadmium, using special guns that
shoot X-rays into jewelry to estimate how much cadmium each item might contain.

MJSA has recommended to the CPSC the best standard for testing children’s
jewelry is contained in the European Standard EN 71-3.

Walmart announced recently it has adopted EN 71-3
protocols to screen for cadmium in children’s jewelry that the store sells.

In the U.S.,
the same migration test and cadmium limits established by EN 71-3 are included
in a standard developed for children’s toys by the American Society for Testing
and Materials, ASTM F 963.

JCK