Report: Product safety system needs overhaul

Despite recent action that has seen more than 750 toymakers banned from exporting after failing to meet product safety standards, China's safety system still requires a swift overhaul, according to a European Commission report. The report, published on Thursday, found that in 25% of cases the makers of dangerous toys could not be traced due to poor record-keeping. "As with food, we have to be able to find out where these goods originate to tackle the problem at source," it said. The review followed a series of high-profile product recalls, notably by US toymaker Mattel, the Financial Times reported. In October, EU governments found a record 187 dangerous products in tests, 69% of which came from China. Beijing has responded by investigating 184 cases between July and September, compared with just 84 in the previous 12 months. Exports were halted in a third of the cases.