In the wake of the Thomas & Friends voluntary toy recall heard ’round the world this past June 13 that made headlines and took an estimated US$4-million bite out of its bottom line, manufacturer RC2 Corporation has pledged to undertake more ‘rigorous audits’ of its manufacturing facilities.

The toyco will start by enforcing both a tougher certification program for paint suppliers and a more vigorous product-testing regimen that will include an increased scope and frequency of testing on raw materials and finished products. And effective immediately, the company is testing every batch of paint used on its wooden toys, with a plan to roll out the measures to all of its manufacturing operations.

All-in-all, 26 individual Thomas & Friends wooden railway toys, covering 23 SKUs, were affected in the voluntary recall issued by RC2 after an internal investigation linked apparent excess levels of lead with a limited number of paint colors used at a single contract manufacturing facility. RC2 has since stopped production at the affected facility.