Massive product recalls of unsafe toys from leading US manufacturer Mattel has prompted the ACCC to warn local retailers of the need to step up quality testing.Almost half a million toys sold in Australia by  Mattel are being recalled because of safety concerns, including 23,000 toy cars and more than 400,000 toys containing magnets.

The affected toys included Batman, Barbie and Cars products.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) spokeswoman Louise Sylvan says the states carry out random testing on products to ensure there are no problems.

But she says retailers have the major responsibility to ensure what they sell is safe.

“Where they are possibly using suppliers anywhere in the world who are distant, who they may not be absolutely knowledgeable about, they need to step up the quality assurance programs [and] the rate of testing of their products so that these problems can be stopped before they actually land on the shelves,” she said.