KEY POINTS:
New Zealand's Buzzy Bee toy is about to reveal on its packaging that it is actually made in China.
Buzzy Bees were created by Auckland brothers Hec and John Ramsey and launched in 1943.
In the early 1990s, parts of the toys started being made in China, and
since the end of last year, the toys have been completely made and assembled in China. But there was no mention of China on the toys or packaging - until now.
Brightway Products managing director Stephen Lovegrove said the decision to put "Made in China" on the toys was taken in April, and had nothing to do with recent media reports about the safety of goods made in China.
"On the new packaging, we've clearly stated 'Made in China'. Saying nothing is a little misleading because a lot of people think they are still New Zealand made."
Mr Lovegrove said the company, which sells about 30,000 Buzzy Bees a year in New Zealand, had explored the option of making the toys here, but it wasn't cost-effective.
"If it was made here it would be at about 2 1/2 times the price it is now."
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs said there was no requirement in New Zealand to put the country of origin on toys. However, many manufacturers did label where their toys came from.
Mr Lovegrove said the toys underwent rigorous safety tests, but extra tests had recently been ordered because of concerns over the safety of Chinese-made toys.
He said when the toys arrived in New Zealand, they went through a quality control process and were then packaged.
"Our employees do the quality control testing. Each individual bee gets its antennas pulled, the wings pulled to make sure they don't come off and the clicker gets tested to make sure it clicks properly."
An independent testing company in Hong Kong regularly tests the toxicity of the toys, including the paint, as well as checking things such as whether the recommended age is correct.
"At random, we pull toys out from the factory and we'll send a random sample to the testing facility."
He said the toys were tested to European standards and had never failed a toxicity test.
"The thing is, the Buzzy Bee is so publicly sensitive that we couldn't afford one single thing to go wrong with it."
Last month, Buzzy Bees were given a face-lift. They now have eyebrows and a smiley face.
In the past they had no eyebrows and no mouth at all.
