MONTREAL - Toy manufacturer Mega Brands Inc. is taking issue with a Quebec-based consumer affairs magazine over claims one of its Mega Bloks products has elevated levels of lead.
President and CEO Marc Bertrand announced Tuesday that his company is seeking an injunction in Quebec Superior Court against "Protegez-Vous,'' a non-profit magazine allied with the Quebec Consumer Protection Office.
According to Bertrand, "Protegez-Vous'' used an inaccurate test to determine the lead content in a sample of its toy building blocks.
"Our goal is simply to ensure that consumers know Mega Bloks products are secure and that the results published by "Protegez-Vous'' are not correct,'' Bertrand told reporters during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Montreal.
But "Protegez-Vous'' emphatically rejected the suggestion its tests cannot be trusted.
"Protegez-Vous Editions stands by the accuracy of its results,'' the magazine said in a news release.
The magazine's findings will appear in its annual holiday gift buying guide, considered an influential barometer for safety-conscious parents in the province.
The guide is slated to be launched on Wednesday, though the Mega Brands injunction is seeking to "prevent Protegez-Vous from knowingly selling and further distributing a publication that contains misleading conclusions.''
"Protegez-Vous'' refused to provide a copy of the article in question to The Canadian Press, but insisted in its news release that all testing methodology was cleared with Health Canada.
The company says the magazine used a "total lead'' test, which it claims is only applicable to painted products. The preschool toy at the centre of the controversy is molded plastic, and coloured by resin and pigments rather than paint.
Mega Brands countered that a "migration test'' -- which determines how much lead can be transferred to the body during normal childhood activities such as sucking or biting -- is more appropriate for its plastic block.
Using this method, the company said lead levels in the toy were well below European standards, though there is no corresponding standard for this test in Canada.
"We're not saying "Protegez-Vous'' is completely wrong,'' said Sylvain Duval, vice-president of global operations at Mega Brands. "We're saying their conclusion is erroneous in that it created a new worry for consumers that is not necessary.''
While it is not unusual for plastic products to contain traces of lead, it can be toxic if ingested by young children.
Mega Brands is particularly sensitive to claims about the safety of its products after one child died and four others were seriously injured when they swallowed tiny magnets in the Magnetix line of building sets.
The company was eventually forced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to recall more than seven million sets.
North American toy makers in general have been hit hard in recent months by a string of recalled products from China, and the industry was quick to come to the defence of Mega Brands.
"There have been a lot of recalls recently and I think its unfair to worry consumers unnecessarily,'' said the Canadian Toy Association executive director, Sheila Edmonson, who also attended the Mega Brands news conference.
"Before people make statements they really should ensure that the information they have is correct.''
Representatives for "Protegez-Vous'' say they will respond in detail to the allegations at the launch of their holiday gift buying guide on Wednesday.
Shares of Mega Brands were up 19 cents Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange, closing at $16.05.
