A recall of 12 million cadmium-tainted “Shrek” drinking glasses sold by McDonald’s raises questions about the safety of millions of similar cheap promotional products that have been sitting in Americans’ kitchen cabinets for years.

Only glasses created for the latest “Shrek” movie are included in the voluntary recall mentioned Friday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, but they were made by a corporation that McDonald’s has worked with for 15 years. And many other corporations produce the same glassware with cartoon characters or other designs baked in. McDonald’s said the U.S.-made glasses met federal guidelines for cadmium under testing conducted by a CPSC-approved lab. CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson, however, said the glasses fall short of standards for the toxic metal that the agency is in the process of developing.

The CPSC warned consumers to right away stop using the glasses McDonald’s sold as part of a promotional campaign for the movie Shrek Forever After.The fast-food giant said it issued the recall in profusion of caution and in light of CPSC’s evolving assessment of standards for consumer products. Cadmium is a carcinogen that research shows also can cause bone softening and severe kidney problems. Study as well suggests that it can, like lead, hinder brain development in the very young.In the case of the Shrek-themed glassware, the potential danger would be long-term contact to low levels of cadmium, which could leach onto a child’s hand and enter the body if the child puts that unwashed hand to his or her mouth.

Concerns about cadmium exposure emerged in January, when The Associated Press reported that some items of children’s jewelry sold at main national chains contained up to 91 percent of the metal. Federal regulators have recalled many pieces of jewelry containing cadmium, concerned that kids could ingest it by biting, sucking or even swallowing contaminated pendants and bracelets.