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This is by no means meant to be a complete list of product recalls. If you have specific concerns about an item that doesn't appear here, contact the manufacturer directly.

Filed under: Crib Recalls
Simplicity Cribs recalled after infant deaths - UPDATED
September 21, 2007 at 3:51 pm

Wow, this is scary — approximately one million Simplicity Cribs are being recalled because of a defect in the drop-side. The hardware was made so that apparently it’s pretty easy to assemble the drop-side upside down. This causes it to be able to detach, creating a gap large enough for infants to get stuck and suffocate. Two known deaths have already occurred, and another is being investigated.

The cribs were sold nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between $100 - $300. Parents are being urged to immediately check whether the drop-side is installed correctly (there is information on their website to help determine that), and then contact them at 888-593-9274 for a free repair.

And if you can’t figure out if it’s safe or not, or have even the littlest bit of doubt, don’t use the thing! The deaths are tragic enough without the immense guilt these parents who assembled the crib must feel thinking they were somehow responsible…

UPDATE: This crib was also sold under the Graco name, and we just read that the same hazard may exist in cribs with the “older style” hardware (again, go to their website to determine which you have) even if the side was installed right side up. This is the largest crib recall in history, so there’s a good chance you might have this one — check your cribs, people!

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Filed under: Medication Recalls
Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water recalled
September 21, 2007 at 1:33 pm

Just because it’s labeled “herbal” or “natural” or “organic” doesn’t always mean it’s 100% safe:

The Food and Drug Administration warned parents Thursday to avoid Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water-Apple Flavor, a liquid herbal supplement for baby colic, as it could be contaminated.

The FDA conducted lab tests that confirmed the presence of Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can cause diarrhea and intestinal infections, in unopened bottles of apple-flavored Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water, health officials said.

One 6-week-old baby from Minnesota could be sick from the product, a warning posted Sept. 10 on the FDA’s website says.

Bottles affected have the lot code “26952V” printed on it, with an expiration date of October 8th 2008 (thanks for the heads up, J Cassidy!). Parents are advised to stop using the product and dispose of it immediately.

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Filed under: Bicycle Recalls
REI Trailer Bicycle recalled for fall hazard
September 20, 2007 at 9:24 am

reibike.jpgThere’s been a reported incident that the REI Bicycle Trailer may contain a faulty part, causing it to detach from the adult’s bicycle causing the kid to fall over. So, in the interest of safety, REI is recalling all of its Novara Afterburner trailer bicycles. This model was sold between February 2007 and July 2007 at REI stores for around $160. You can visit your local REI store to get either a replacement part or a full refund/credit.

OK, now that the serious stuff is out of the way, is anyone else picturing a scene from Benny Hill? Britain’s favorite perv distracted while riding his bike by a busty woman, and the kid he’s towing comes loose and goes flying over a cliff. Why don’t they make TV like that any more?

Of course, that wouldn’t be so funny in real life, so if you have one of these trailer bicycles get it taken care of immediately.

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Filed under: Toy Recalls
Toy manufacturers to pass extra safety costs on to consumers
September 16, 2007 at 5:28 pm

Does this seem fair to you? Toy manufactures skate by for years using cheap foreign labor that we now know do not implement the most rigorous of safety testing, and instead of maybe taking a tiny bit less profit on the ol’ P&L, they have instead decided to punish the consumer by raising prices:

NEW YORK (AP) — American consumers will be bearing the cost of safer toys, but not until after this year’s Christmas season. Shoppers can expect price increases up to 10 percent next year to pay for increased vigilance by toy makers and stores after more than 3 million lead-tainted toys from China were recalled worldwide since June. That means a $6.99 Barbie doll could go up to about $7.70, or a $70 child friendly digital camera could retail next year for almost $80

A 10 percent average increase would be the biggest one-time price hike in toys in several years, analysts say. And it’s more than twice the government’s measure of consumer inflation of 4.7 percent during the first seven months of this year.

Can you say hubris?

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Filed under: Toy Recalls
Disney to step up toy testing
September 12, 2007 at 10:40 am

See, now this is what I’m talking about — Disney has decided not to rely solely on their Chinese manufacturers, and are testing themselves that the toys they sell are safe:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Walt Disney Co. will begin testing toys featuring its characters in an effort to ensure product safety ahead of the busy holiday shopping season, according to a pair of reports published Monday.

Disney (Charts, Fortune 500), which typically licenses the use of its characters to toymakers, said it will test more than 65,000 children’s products, including items that are already on store shelves, both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported.

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Filed under: Toy Recalls
China pinky swears they’ll stop using lead paint
September 12, 2007 at 10:33 am

Apparently the United States has struck a deal with the Chinese product safety agency, in which China assures that they will stop the use of lead paint in toys:

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In a cooperative effort to ensure the safety of children�s toys, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced an agreement with its product safety counterparts in the Chinese government aimed at stopping the use of lead paint in the manufacture of toys and addressing other product safety issues. At a “Consumer Product Safety Summit” held today in Washington, D.C., CPSC made known that China�s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) has agreed to take immediately action to eliminate the use of lead paint on Chinese manufactured toys exported to the United States. Lead paint on toys sold in the U.S. has been banned since 1978.

In addition to the lead paint agreement, the two agencies announced work plans for cooperation in four product categories: Toys, Fireworks, Cigarette Lighters, and Electrical Products. The Work Plans provide a roadmap for bilateral efforts to improve the safety of these products, which represent some of the most frequent hazards under CPSC’s regulatory jurisdiction.

CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Nord stated that the Work Plans show �significant forward progress� in the agency�s efforts to bring Chinese-made consumer products into line with U.S. safety rules.

Color me unimpressed. Maybe I can be accused of being too cynical, but I’m not about to feel safe buying Chinese products just because a communist country that has shown previous complete disregard for safety standards says it’s all better now. While things certainly do need to improve on their end, I think it would be much more prudent to step up vigilance and safety testing on ours by the importers that choose to do business with China. But that’s just me.

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Filed under: Toy Recalls
Mattel recalls 800,000 more toys of doom
September 5, 2007 at 7:53 am

Those of you who short sold Mattel stock are probably celebrating this morning — toy maker Mattel has announced yet another recall of toys due to the threat of lead paint making it the third such recall by the company in just a few weeks.

This recall involves 675,000 Barbie accessories (not the dolls) sold between October 2006 to August 2007. The others include 90,000 units of Fisher-Price GeoTrax trains and 8,900 Big Big World Bongo Band toys. Full details are on the Mattel website.

Guess whose kids are getting hand made wooden toys for Christmas this year?

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