HONG KONG — Samsonite International SA, the largest branded-luggage maker, is pulling its Tokyo Chic line to replace handles after reports they contained carcinogens.

The Mansfield, Mass.-
based company said in a statement it has “absolute conviction” the Tokyo Chic line of luggage is safe to use and the recall is aimed at ensuring consumer confidence. The cost of the replacements will amount to no more than $500,000, Ramesh Tainwala, the company’s president for Asia Pacific and Middle East, said at a press conference in Hong Kong.

Samsonite shares plunged 16 percent in the city on Friday after Choice Magazine, a monthly publication of the Hong Kong Consumer Council, reported that handles of some Samsonite luggage contained materials which could cause cancer.

The Consumer Council report is “irresponsible” and based on “isolated statistics,” Tainwala said.

Calls to the Consumer Council after normal business hours weren’t answered. The magazine, which had mentioned Samsonite’s Tokyo Chic, Cubelite, and Westlake lines, had said the immediate danger was minimal. Samsonite said on Friday all three brands were “completely safe.”