Some 25 million toys were recalled in North America last year because of lead contamination. Progress has been made to make sure toys are safer this year -- but discovered shoppers still need to be on guard.

"You still need to be careful because lead-tainted toys and metal jewelry have not been completely eliminated," explained Bob Tiernan of Consumer Reports.

He's right. In the last month -- "Super Dooper Charms" children's charm craft kits were recalled in Canada

So were these "My Baby" pacifiers. And even the iconic "Northern Gifts RCMP Uniform Plush Toys" -- on the market since 1996 there have been 2.5 million sold!

In products primarily intended for children, Canada now has a 600 part per million limit on lead the Americans follow that starting in February - too late for this holiday season then in August the American limit is dropping to 300 parts per million. So far, Canada has not taken that extra step.

Some big American retailers, including Wal-mart, say they've already instituted new safety measures. Toys R Us says all new products coming into its stores must meet the 300-parts-per-million limit now. And a Consumer Reports investigation has found that products it identified last year as high in lead are largely gone from store shelves. That includes the red cuff on this fisher-price blood pressure monitor.

"We found a few of these in one store and one online," said Tiernan,

And there was no lead in the blue cuffs that consumer reports tested.

And while Consumer Reports tests last year found the caps of some Elmer's glue sticks contained lead, a screening of these new glue caps found they do not contain the toxic metal.

Home lead tests can be a useful first step in screening for surface lead. Consumer Reports recommends these three kits - the Household Lead Check, the Instant Lead Testing Kit from Lead Check, and Abotexs lead test kit But be aware they can't detect lead beneath the surface.

Here's the bottom line -- choose manufacturers you have confidence in and consider the country where the toy was made because there is no independent government testing of all toys....there just isn't. If you want to check out lead related recall for yourself click here for Health Canada's website. Click on the Consumer Product Recall Button and Search Lead Recalls.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen