The retailer recalled 13 types of the toys associated with Thomas the Tank Engine sold in its shops in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand, the company said in a faxed statement. It didn't give a reason for the recall.

RC2 Corp., a U.S. designer of collectible toys, is recalling components from its Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway product line in the U.S. because paint on some of the toys contains lead. No illnesses or injuries have been reported as a result of the paint, the company said in a June 13 statement.

Consumer product scandals in China have multiplied in recent months, with tainted pet food in the U.S. and poisonous toothpaste and drugs in Latin America linked to Chinese producers. According to the U.S. National Safety Council's Web site, lead is highly toxic, with children under the age of six especially vulnerable to its harmful health effects, including brain damage and kidney failure.

"Each time we have an inkling about any of our products, we will take all the products back," Pieter Schats, chief executive officer for Toys "R" Us Asia, said by telephone Friday.

Schats declined to confirm the products contained lead and said the recalled products were not exclusive to the company's stores.

'Voluntary' recall

A spokeswoman for Komodo Ltd., the distributor of "Thomas & Friends" toys in Hong Kong, said the product recall was "voluntary" as the products comply fully with all local standards. She declined to be named or provide further details.

A survey released last month found 23 percent of 105 locally manufactured toys failed a quality test, China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection & Quarantine said in a report on its Web site. Some toys have "safety problems" that may potentially hurt children, it said. The survey covered 240 local manufacturers of toys, children's clothing, infant milk powder and jelly.

"Even very low levels of exposure can result in reduced IQ, learning difficulties, attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, impaired hearing and kidney damage," the National Safety Council's Web site says of lead.

Spin-off plan

Li & Fung, which sells goods to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., may spin of its Toys "R" Us Asia unit within the next two years, the Economic Times reported May 16, citing Managing Director William Fung Kwok Lun.

China's agency in charge of consumer market supervision said it handled 4.68 million inquiries and consumer complaints last year as the nation seeks to defend its food safety system and policing of intellectual property rights.

The State Administration for Industry & Commerce dealt with 63,065 items related to food and 17,362 on catering last year, declines of 2.8 percent and 2.1 percent from 2005, according to statistics released at a press conference June 12.