15 May 2009
Face Painting a Rash Decision
Posted by admin under: safety .
So sad for some Girl Scouts in Ohio. They were attending Thinking Day event and face painting was one of the activities they were able to indulge in. Unfortunately, the paints were one of a hundred sets that had to be recalled by the FDA because of the ill effects it had on the girls.
Lori Herning’s 11-year-old daughter chose a cheerful sunshine design for her cheek when she visited a face-painting booth at a Girl Scouts event in February.
“That evening, when she washed it off, it was a raised, red rash,” said Herning, a leader of two Girl Scout troops in the Olentangy Service Unit in Delaware County.
Herning took her daughter to see a doctor who recommended over-the-counter cortisone cream to treat the itchy rash. It cleared up a few days later.
Several other girls in Herning’s troops got similar skin rashes after attending a Girl Scouts World Thinking Day event at Orange Middle School in Lewis Center.
A survey of parents whose children attended the Feb. 28 event showed that at least 43 youngsters experienced rashes after having their faces painted, said Jesse Carter, spokesman for the Delaware General Health District.
The local outbreak has prompted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to recall six cosmetic face-paint products. The national recall was announced Tuesday.
The FDA warns against using certain face-paint colors manufactured by Shanghai Color Art Stationary Co. Ltd. of Shanghai, China. The products are being voluntarily recalled by Fun Express, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oriental Trading Co., which distributes the product.
A Westerville party-supply store sold the paints used at the Girl Scouts gathering, Carter said. The store pulled the product from its shelves after the outbreak.
The recall covers blue, purple, red, orange, black and green face paints sold in 1-ounce tubes.
Testing of the paints showed bacteria, yeast and mold counts above industry guidelines, FDA officials said.
Uh-oh. My troop buys supplies from Oriental Trading Company all the time. I wonder if we have to worry about that practice in the future. and what’s with China sending us yet another toxic item? Is it some kind of weird quid pro quo for all the American debt they’ve been buying? Just kidding. Please don’t take that seriously.
Thanks to Dana Wilson at the Columbus Dispatch for giving us the particular details of this recall including the following link from the FDA detailing the items: www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW02015.html
- FDA Says Steal Your Scouts’ Clif Bars For Their Own Good
- GSUSA: Recruiting the Fair
- GSUSA: Time in a Bottle
- Jetboil Recall
- A Timeless Experience
