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Steve Chiotakis: Seems like the past year has been a time of toy recalls. Choking dangers, fire dangers, and the big one, Chinese-made toys putting kids at risk. Well, here go again, and here are again in holiday toy time. Have things changed? Not so much, according to one watchdog group. Here’s Ashley Milne-Tyte.

Ashley Milne-Tyte: Last year’s spate of toy recalls prompted Congress to pass the Consumer Product Safety Improvement act. The law is supposed to clamp down on lead levels in toys as well as toxic chemicals called phthalates, used in some plastics. But it doesn’t go into effect until February.

Liz Hitchcock is with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group:

Liz Hitchcock: It’s really buyer beware this holiday shopping season.

So how are parents supposed to tell if a toy is potentially dangerous? Hitchcock admits it’s tough from outside the box.

Hitchcock: We think that if they have any suspicion that the paint on a toy is cheaply made, or the toy itself is kind of shoddily made, that they just not buy it.

She says parents should avoid toys made out of more malleable, softer plastic. She says it’s the chemicals in that type of plastic that can harm children’s development.

I’m Ashley Milne-Tyte for Marketplace.