Aqua Dots Recalled due to Ecstacy health scare

There have been quite a few toy recalls lately that have caused quite a bit of concern in the US. But this one is much scarier than most recent recalls (to me, anyway).

Moose Enterprises makes the award winning Bindeez craft system in Australia. In the U.S., it is sold by Spin Master as Aqua Dots. I've seen this item advertised on television and in craft stores and it's available at Amazon and other online retailers. It's quite cool. Children create art with beads that chemically fuse together after they've been sprayed with water. The Super Station was recently named the 2007 Toy of the Year by the Australian Toy Association.

Moose Enterprises has recalled the toy in Australia after children swallowed the little beads that make up the finished craft item. The children became sick because, apparently, the beads metabolize in their system into gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), a drug commonly known as "Liquid Ecstacy".

So far, two separate incidents have been reported in Australia with children swallowing quite a few beads.

In a statement released 11/6/07, Moose said that following a review of ingredients used in the production of its Bindeez beads, some batches did “not exactly match the laboratory tested and approved formula.” The said that substitutions of chemicals used to make the beads “was not at any time approved by Moose, nor was Moose made aware of any substitution by the supplier.” The bead supplier and country is not known at this time.

The company will begin adding Bitrex, an ingredient with a foul taste, to it's beads formula to discourage children from eating them in the future. All new shipments wil include the new beads

At this time, Aqua Dots have not been recalled in the U.S. and I wasn't able to find out if the beads used in the US have the same "formula problem" that the Australian beads seem to. (see update below)

For product recall information, visit the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website.

UPDATE: The Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled AquaDots in the US as well.
At least two children have been hospitalized in the US after eating the beads.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: According to a product description, the toys were supposed to be coated with 1,5-pentanediol, a nontoxic compound found in glue, but instead contained 1,4-butanediol, a potentially harmful chemical widely used in cleaners and plastics.

Both 1,4-butanediol and 1,5-pentanediol are manufactured in China and elsewhere, including by major multinational companies, and are also marketed over the Internet.

There is a significant difference in price between the two chemicals. The Chinese online trading platform ChemNet China lists the price of 1,4 butanediol at between about $1,350-$2,800 per metric ton, while the price for 1,5-pentanediol is about $9,700 per metric ton.