Wood and plastic toys had the worst safety record in a survey by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine this year, the China Daily reported Thursday.

China makes about three-quarters of the world's toys, and its dominant role in the industry has raised worries over lax enforcement of safety standards both for the products it makes and the people who make them.

False label information, improper fittings and loose parts are the main hazards. Although fabric and stuffed toys are better, overall one in seven failed the child safety tests.

Many producers put higher-than-required age limits on their products to skirt stricter safety requirements for toys suited for children under three years old, the report noted.

The Chinese Consumers Association cited the data in a call Wednesday for better toy safety.

``There is a very urgent need for our country to set up a market-access system in the toy industry to locate the sources of dangerous toys,'' the China Daily quoted National Toy Standardization Association expert Zhang Shi as saying.

Many of China's more than 10,000 toy factories are privately owned and less likely to conform to government standards, the report suggested.

But efforts are underway to improve the situation.

In 2003, the International Council of Toy Industries, the biggest industry association, announced it would begin inspecting factories to ensure they meet health, labor and safety codes.

By next year, toys not certified by the group cannot be exported, state media have reported.

In October, new domestic regulations went into effect that require detailed safety indications, warnings and instructions for use on all toys.

The rules, a revision of standards set in 1986, apply to all toys for children below the age of 14. Among other precautions, they cut the amount of toxic heavy metals allowed in making toys by half. ASSOCIATED PRESS