It's difficult to say whose reputation is fading faster: Mattel's or that of Chinese industry?

Following two big recalls of toys because of unsafe levels of lead paint, Mattel has now announced its third.

The recall of 848,000 toys sold worldwide involves mainly eight Barbie accessories like the Barbie Dream Puppy House and a Barbie Kitchen Playset, but not the doll icon herself. Three toys sold by Fisher-Price are also part of the recall.

Since August 1, Mattel has pulled back nearly 20 million toys produced by subcontractors in China because of lead paint or because of small magnets that children could have swallowed. Mattel's stock price has slumped 19 percent since mid-July.

"China's manufacturing reputation is definitely being hurt in the eyes of consumers," said Alan Oxley, managing director of ITS Global, a firm based in Melbourne, Australia, which advises companies on trade policy, according to Bloomberg News. "Global brands like Mattel will have to do a lot more to improve their quality control."

The latest recall quickly prompted calls among lawmakers for greater scrutiny of Chinese imports. So far this year, problems have been found with food products, pet food and toothpaste from China.

 "News of unsafe products infiltrating the American marketplace is becoming all too familiar," said Representative Edward Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.  "It's clear that our consumer-product safety net has a hole in it the size of China.''

Robert A. Eckert, the chief executive of Mattel, said in a statement: "As a result of our ongoing investigation we discovered additional affected products. Consequently, several subcontractors are no longer manufacturing Mattel toys. We apologize again to everyone affected and promise that we will continue to focus on ensuring the safety and quality of our toys."