Recall of China-made toys unnerves parents

— -- First it was Thomas the Tank Engine trains. Then Easy-Bake Ovens. And now Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Dora the Explorer.

All are beloved children's characters that were licensed to toy manufacturers who contracted with companies in China to make the toys. And all have had those toys recalled. Millions of them. Just since June.

Those toys feature the Sesame Street characters — the big yellow one; the little red one; the hairy blue one — and Nickelodeon's adventuresome bilingual cartoon girl.

Mattel said it yanked the products before barely 30% showed up on retailers' shelves. Its CEO apologized to customers while telling shareholders of the world's No. 1 toymaker that the recall would reduce its second-quarter pretax operating income by $30 million from its previously reported $63.5 million. Mattel stock closed at $23.18 Thursday, down 40 cents.

The toys were recalled because of concerns about paint containing lead, which has been outlawed for use on U.S. toys since 1978. If eaten by children, lead can cause serious health issues. No injuries from these toys have been reported. "Our safety record is exemplary," said David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price. "All of us at Fisher-Price are devastated."

Will the recall affect the holiday shopping season? It's a small percentage of the toys sold in the USA, and retailers will have plenty on hand. But some analysts say it's too soon to tell. Some worry that consumers will be put off by the growing number of toy recalls.

More than $22 billion is spent on toys each year, not counting video games (another $12 billion).

"It's gotten to the point where something's going to have to happen or consumers will be more cautious about toys," says Chris Byrne, contributing editor of Toy Wishes magazine.

Many parents are worried already.

"It makes me nervous about the prospect of buying items that were made in China, specifically food and toys, since they can be hazardous to me and my family," said Joseph Nole of Nutley, N.J., who is a member of USA TODAY's shoppers panel. "I am finding it hard to trust China."