Monday, April 21, 2008
Crocs Pose Escalator Hazard, Says Japanese Government
Those ubiquitous "Crocs" shoes ( and their many imitators are under fire again. Complaints to U.S. government regulators haven't apparently gone far enough for the government to take action. The Japanese government, however, has asked the company to redesign the children's shoes to protect their feet on escalator.Crocs, Inc. (NADAQ:CROX) exploded with what intiially seemed to be a fad, and is now a business approaching $1 billion in annual revenues. Millions of pairs of shoes have been sold in Japan, and the government said this weekend that dozens of children suffered foot injuries, even losing toes, while wearing the platstic shoes.Labels: children, Crocs, Japan, safety
Sunday, April 06, 2008
[recall] Imaginarium Activity Center - Choking Hazard
See that picture? If your child has one of these colorful little gizmos, it's time to take the item away.
The toy is called the Imaginarium Actvity Center and was sold by Toys R Us from August of last year to February.
The US Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that it has received 12 reports of those cute little sliders coming off the Activity Center and creating a choking hazard for children. Given that the item sold for between $20 and $50, this isn't simply a dollar store tossaway item, but one that is worth pursuing.
First,
take the Activity Center from your child.
Once you've done that, you can return the item to your local Toys R Us store for a refund. If you still have the box, you can check to ensure your particular model is covered because the item numbers 69042 (multi-sided) and 69083 (jungle) are printed on the back of the box, near the bar code.
Consumers with questions can call Toys R Us toll-free at (800) 869-7787 between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET Monday through Saturday and between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Sunday.
Labels: children, recall, safety, toys r us
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Federal Delays Keep Piling Up, But No OTC Cold Meds For Kids Is Official
We were outraged last week when the federal government said it would
delay hearings on the safety of children using OTC cold medicine.
This is why the federal government either needs better, faster regulatory and investigative resources or some sense of urgency. The
public knew that this was an issue days ago. The medical community apparently knew months, if not years, ago. Even the companies that made the over-the-counter
meds specifically for kids yanked them off the shelves before the hearings.
If an organization the size of McNeil (makers of Tylenol, St. Joseph Aspirin,
Mylanta and others) can mobilize to pull medicine from retail shelves all over the country, why does it take a much smaller organization one week to pull together hearings? Why weren't there hearings the next day? What about the weekend? We work weekends sometimes. Do you? Why doesn't the FDA?
And if they do, where is the sense of
urgency? We are happy to recognize the makers of the OTC medicines for children for acting fast while still wondering what they knew about this issue going into the fall of 2007. The FDA alone is not culpable. The USDA botched their recall of the tainted pot pies just weeks ago when everyone from the manufacturer to the CDC to the retailers yanked the food from the shelves.
Federal government must act faster. This is why Federal Express is used rather than the USPS when it absolutely positively has to be there overnight. This is why passport regulations are enacted and then lifted when family vacations and critical business trips were destroyed. No organization is perfect, but most private sector companies have some sort of disaster or crisis contingency plan. Our government is charged with many things and does well with some of them. Where they continue missing in the Year of the Recall is speed to take action.
Consumer safety continues to get short shrift, and that cannot continue.
Labels: children, FDA, recall, safety
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Recall Recap: This Week's Major Recalls
Toshiba Recalls Portable DVD Power Supplies, Starbucks Pulls Kid CupsFirst batteries, now power supplies. As we grow into a more wired society, those electronic components can be dangerous.
Toshiba (OTC:TOSBF) is recallingmore than 140,000 power supplies sold with its portable DVD player. The company says no consumers have injured but they have reports about two units overheating. his recall involves the AC adapter sold with the Toshiba portable DVD player Model SD-P1600. Toshiba and ADPV16 can be found on the side of the adapter. Toshiba, Model SD-P1600, and the serial number can be found on a rating label on the bottom of the cabinet for the DVD player. One guess to name the Asian country where these were made.
The electronics giant is telling consumers to contact them and stop using the unit. Call Toshiba Customer Solutions toll-free at (877) 290-6064 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. CT Monday through Friday for more information.
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More electronics
recalls hit Home Depot (NYSE:HD). If you shopped there this summer for fluorescent light fixtures sold under the Lithonia name, you need to see if you have a bum product.
This recall involves the Lithonia Lighting Nickel End Wrap fluorescent ceiling light fixtures model number New 2 32 120 RE BN and date code N050807. Lithonia Lighting, the model number, and the date code can be found on the shipping box or on a label located inside the fixture, next to the fluorescent tube. To read the label on the fixture, consumers should turn the power off at the home's circuit breaker and remove the plastic cover of the light fixture. Light fixtures sold in a box marked with a round pink sticker are not included in this recall.
Home Depot is offering a full refund or exchange if you bring the unit back to them. If you don't know what you're doing and someone else installed this, please call an electrician!
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Aren't these cups cute? We thought so too.
. But coffee retailer
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has received 7 reports of the cup breaking and creating the potential to choke a small child. Starbucks also said they had received two such instances. Bring the cup back to the store, and Starbucks says they will provide a full refund and a free beverage (which may be more than the refund!). Need more info? Call Starbucks at (888) 288-4008 anytime.
Christmas Tree Shops is recalling nearly 10,000 candles that can cause a fire. A glitter decoration outside the candle is the culprit. The company says that consumers should stop using the candles and return them to the store for a refund. For more questions, call Christmas Tree Shops toll-free at (888) 287-3232 between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
Be careful with these candles. They were sold during the 2006 holiday season, and you may have packed them away for this year.Labels: children, Christmas Tree Shops, Home Depot, recall, safety, Starbucks, Toshiba
Friday, October 12, 2007
No Cold Meds For Baby As Regulators Miss Again
In a year where federal regulatory agencies have come under sharp criticism for their delays in protecting American consumers, the business community decided to solve its own issues this week.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has scheduled hearings
for next week regarding the safety of children under two using over the counter medicines that treat cold symptoms. The manufacturers of popular brands such as
Dimetapp, Tylenol and Robitussin have all voluntarily begun pulling their infant formulations from grocery and drugstore shelves.
Even if the science proves that their formulations were wrong to begin with, we continue to question the effectiveness of nearly every federal agency charged with protecting consumers, especially the USDA and FDA. Attacking the
CPSC is a more popular sport these days, but they appear to us to show a bias to action. Meanwhile, the FTC continues doing very well in shutting down the most egregious business operators, and the
FCIC does a fine job educating consumers.
If consumer safety does not warrant a cabinet-level position, then what does? These are the clothes we wear, the appliances we use, the food we eat and the medicine that heals us. Shouldn't there be some level of oversight at a macro level that helps consumers? Having already done away with the federal Consumer Affairs office, we're left with a bowl of alphabet soup that doesn't work very well.
We would have saved news of an action like this for our weekly recall feature debuting this week, but can't because too much of this medication is not on store shelves, but on medicine cabinet shelves throughout the country. Help your children. Get rid of it now, and ask your pediatrician how to care for your small child.
Last month it was lead in toys -- an understandable if inexcusable issue. Then it was
cribs that kill children and playpens that could hurt them. Now the medicine we give them to ease their colds (infant formulations of the medicine tens of millions of Americans ingest each year) are under fire.
And no one is watching out for the children. Let's reinvent government the other way for a change and put some consumer advocates in charge of the
helter-
skelter, hit and miss efforts of the individual agencies.
Labels: children, government, medical, safety
Thursday, September 27, 2007
More Child Recalls This Week - Add Playpens to Cribs
Again forgetting the recriminations for today, we ask that you please help spread the word about Kolcraft play yards, what you and your parents called "playpens".
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has already linked the death of a 10 month old boy to the units. The strap across the changing table apparently poses a strangulation effort.
As with the infamous Graco/Aspen crib recall, Kolcraft is sending consumers a kit to fix the strap and eliminate the danger. Pundits say that a similar style of recall was insufficient for the crib manufacturer.
Consumer Help Web understands the financial burden parents of a new child face. These are relatively expensive units that cost between $50 and $130.
If you have any doubt in your ability to properly fix the playpen, please dispose of it safely by dismantling it. Your child's safety is worth $130 or not having a playpen for a short period of time.
Reports are surfacing across the Internet that recalled goods are also surfacing at garage sales and even on eBay and other Internet auctions. "It's a natural and likely benign issue," said Consumer Help Web Chief Operating Officer George Bounacos. "If a parent doesn't learn about the recall and their child is not hurt, there is a booming unrecorded market in baby items passed among friends and relatives or sold at yard sales. Doing so is being a good consumer, but the buyer must research the item first."
The play yards recalled now were manufactured in China over a 6 year period. Kolcraft has received multiple reports of children rolling into unsafe positions in these units. The company says that consumers should immediately stop using the changing tables and rocking cradle and contact the firm. They should also immediately cut off and remove the existing changing table restraint strap. Consumers should always remove the raised changing table and cradle or bassinet before placing a child in a play yard.
For additional information, call Kolcraft at (888) 655-8484 anytime, or visit the firm’s web site at
www.kolcraft.com.
All of that is good advice, but we remain committed to our advice to parents. If you feel like the repair is beyond you, dismantle the unit so no one else uses it and buy something safer. Please don't guess.
Also please remember to pass the word about the
massive crib recall several days ago. Consumer Help Web will continue helping parents who face difficulties fulfilling the terms of this recall and waive our complaint resolution fee.
Labels: children, China, Kolcraft, play yard, playpen, safety
Those ubiquitous "Crocs" shoes (photo by antonde, left) and their many imitators are under fire again. Complaints to U.S. government regulators haven't apparently gone far enough for the government to take action. The Japanese government, however, has asked the company to redesign the children's shoes to protect their feet on escalator.
