Starbucks won’t halt products made in China after recall

Starbucks recalled 250,000 children’s plastic cups from U.S. and Canada stores, a year after removing 73,000 China-made coffee machines prone to overheating and melting, according to company statements.

“This is an isolated incident,” Starbucks spokesman Brandon Borrman said from the company’s Seattle headquarters Wednesday. “In an issue like this we act very quickly. We frequently conduct design safety reviews and have an ongoing process of random testing.”

At least 15 million items manufactured in China were recalled in the U.S. over the past two months, including tainted children’s products under brands including Mattel Inc. and Walt Disney Co. Chinese officials are trying to repair the damage to the “Made in China” label with more inspections and monitoring of production.

“Design flaws in products that foreign companies bring to Chinese manufacturers to produce account for a lot of the recall problems,” said Bruce McLaughlin, chief executive of Sinogie Consulting, which helps foreign companies investigate the reliability of Chinese manufacturers. “Some Chinese manufacturers do cut corners and use inferior supplies, but reliability in general has been getting steadily better.”

Wang Xinpei, a spokesman for China’s Ministry of Commerce, declined to comment Wednesday.

Animal faces on Starbucks’ plastic cups broke in at least seven instances, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Tuesday in a statement. Two children began to choke on the pieces, though no injuries have been reported, the CPSC said. The cups also posed a laceration hazard, it said.

The cups were sold at Starbucks stores from May 2006 through August 2007 for US$6. Consumers may receive refunds as well as a complimentary beverage from Starbucks for returning the cups.

In October 2006, the company recalled 73,000 China-made coffeemakers because defective electrical wiring caused some to overheat and melt their plastic shells.

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