WASHINGTON -- US store shelves are still stacked with dangerous toys made in China despite a spate of recent health scares that prompted mass recalls, a consumer group warned in a study published Tuesday.

Inspectors from the US Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) "still found trouble in toyland on store shelves this fall," the group's Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski said in a statement presenting its annual toy safety survey.

The group found dozens of examples of toys and jewelry with high levels of lead and other poisonous chemicals, dangerously strong magnets, and parts small enough to choke a child if swallowed.

Almost 73,000 children under the age of five went to emergency rooms, and 20 children died, due to toy-related injuries in 2005, it said, citing data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Another group, the California-based Center for Environmental Health, last week reported finding various children's products with illegally high levels of lead, including children's backpacks, rain ponchos and vinyl lunchboxes.

It said nine of 100 toys bought from various stores had high lead levels. The nine products were all made in China.

A spate of overseas safety recalls this year targeted Chinese-made products ranging from seafood to car tires, with toys in the spotlight in recent months.

In one high profile case, US toy giant Mattel recalled 18 million toys in August, including Barbie Dolls and Batman action figures amid concern the toys had been made with toxic lead paints and magnets that posed a choking risk to children.

The warnings ahead of the Christmas shopping season have stoked calls for stronger oversight by the CPSC. Its acting chairman Nancy Nord has defended the agency's efforts, saying it has recalled tens of millions of products in 2007.

Mierzwinski said the agency was under-resourced. Congress is considering legislation to boost its budget from $63 million a year to more than $100 million and increase punishments for violations.