Bob Eckert has told a US congressional committee he would make his expectations for safe toys clear to the firm’s Chinese partners, because he wanted to assure customers “that [Mattel’s] processes are right and our systems are working”.

Eckert apologised for the recalls and said as a result of intense investigations the firm has made a number of reforms, including that paint must now be bought from a certified vendor.

“We know full well that we have disappointed those parents by the recalls you have seen over the past sever weeks. For that, we are very sorry,” he said.

The US toy industry has tried to head off a political fiasco and public fears about the quality of Chinese-made products. The sub-committee’s hearing has come a week after the US and Chinese governments finally agreed on a deal to increase quality control procedures to prevent any more unsafe products being exported to the US.