With all of the recent problems with lead paint on the toys coming out of China, product recalls, and general concern with baby products being produced overseas, it begs the question…. can building materials out of China be trusted? While you do have the occassional problems with consistency in the quality, most of the products coming out of China really are safe.
I have been to the factories in China that manufacturer the kitchen cabinets and from what I was shown, the quality levels are certainly up to par. I think the major difference in the problems with the toys and any potential problems with the kitchen cabinets coming out of China would be the products use and materials used to make it. With the toys, you have the potential for more hazardous chemicals to used in the manufacturing between the chemicals in the plastics and the paint. With kitchen cabinets, the wood doesn’t have any chemical additives, and they are using polyeurothane for the finish. I also think that because the toys have a higher chance of being injested, there are higher standards put on the materials.