McDonald's Shrek Glasses Recalled for Cadmium

CPSC Recalls 12 Million Promotional Glasses
In conjunction with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), fast-food giant McDonald's announced this morning that it is recalling 12 million promotional glasses that have been sold in stores since May 21. The glasses were promoting the new movie “Shrek Forever After,” but were found to have cadmium in the designs painted onto the items.
The CPSC stated in the recall notice that "long-term exposure to cadmium can cause adverse health effects." Both McDonald's and the CPSC said that the potential danger in the glasses now being recalled 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. "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 CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson.

Cadmium can be used to create reds and yellows in paint, and McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said a pigment in paint on the glasses contained low levels of cadmium. McDonald's reported that about 7 million of the glasses had already been sold, and it would be posting a notice on its website next week about refunds for those glasses. The glasses were manufactured and sold to McDonald's by ARC International, an unlisted manufacturer based in Millville , NJ .