Tuesday, October 19, 2010

McDonald's Strikes Again

Cadmium is a carcinogenic chemical that has been linked to diarrhea, stomach pains, severe vomiting, bone fracture, psychological disorders, reproductive failure and possibly even infertility. Additionally, cadmium damages to the central nervous system and the immune system (Lenntech). This highly toxic chemical can be found in batteries, paints and most recently in your McDonald's toys!



McDonald's recently promoted the animated children's film Shrek with a line of kid-sized glasses featuring characters from the movie. When cadmium was found on the glasses, 12 million of them were recalled. While McDonald's claims that the glasses were not necessarily hazardous, and simply recalled out of caution, "government scientists concluded a 6-year-old could be exposed to hazardous levels of the carcinogen after touching one of the glasses eight times in a day" (The Chicago Tribune).

Bad move McDonald's. They are still refusing to admit the exact levels of cadmium found in their product, which leads me to be even more leery of this corporate food chain that I was before. How can we trust any of their products if they're refusing to responsibly respond to this mess?

-Photo Source: AP photo by Paul Sakuma, The Chicago Tribue

2 comments:

  1. This is terrifying, especially given that these cadmium-laced toys were meant for small children to drink out of, giving the toxins are direct path into the bloodstream.

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  2. Why am I not surprised. We should never trust corporate giants like McDonald's with the health of children.

    ReplyDelete