Target Corp., has been hit with a $600,000 civil penalty for selling toys containing high levels of lead paint. The toys were sold between May 2006 and August 2007, at a time when millions of Chinese-made toys were being pulled off store shelves for containing lead, which can be deadly if ingested by children.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which announced the settlement Thursday, had accused the Minneapolis-based retailer of failing to take proper steps to ensure that the toys it imported or sold were free of lead-based paint. The federal government has banned lead paint on toys since 1978.

"Everyone in the supply chain should have known better," said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson, pointing the finger at everyone from foreign manufacturers and importers to U.S. retailers who peddled the tainted toys. "Safety standards keep kids safe. Safety standards can save lives. But we need everyone in the supply chain complying with the standards."

Target said once lead was discovered, it promptly recalled the private-label and national-brand toys, which were manufactured at various factories in China. Included in the recall were Target's Kool Toyz brand play sets as well as games from the Anima Bamboo Collection, Happy Giddy gardening tools and Sunny Patch chairs.

Target denies it knowingly broke the law. In a statement, the retailer said it was led to believe from its vendors that the toys "did meet our standards and were compliant with all product safety laws when delivered to Target."

The company said it received no reports of injuries. A spokeswoman was unsure whether the company has continued to do business with the vendors and factories in question.

In June, the CPSC socked Mattel and its Fisher-Price subsidiary with a $2.3 million fine for importing and selling lead-coated children's items. The nation's largest toy maker made headlines in 2007 as it recalled more than 10.5 million toys and accessories, including those for Dora the Explorer, Barbie and Diego dolls.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., cosponsored legislation with Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., that tightened federal regulation of children's products. Manufacturers now are required to hire independent third parties to test for lead and other safety concerns.

Target said it currently uses a "rigorous multi-stage testing program" to monitor all of the children's products it manufacturers. The process "catches potential quality and safety issues before and during production," the company said. It also contracts with a third-party lab to test the initial production run and to make random tests during manufacturing.

Target is the 39th manufacturer or retailer to be fined during the CPSC's fiscal year 2009, which ended Wednesday. The agency collected a record-breaking $9.8 million in civil penalties for all sorts of safety violations, not just those related to lead toys.

Jackie Crosby • 612-673-7335