Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, which recently held hearings about the state of toy safety in the U.S. What did Sen. Durbin take away from those hearings?
Quality & Safety
Tamiflu And Relenza Treat Flu, But Might Make You Crazy
By 11.27.07
This week, an FDA advisory panel will review a recommendation to put a warning on flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza that says there have been “psychiatric events observed in some patients.” The companies who make the drugs have both responded that they’ve found no causal link between their drugs and “psychiatric events.”
Meat Sold In Bulk To Retailers And Distributors Recalled For e. Coli
By 11.26.07
Meat processed by American Foods Group of Green Bay, WI has been recalled following an investigation by the Illinois Department of Health. The meat was sold in bulk quantities to retailers and distributors and may not be easily identifiable to consumers, says the USDA:
The products subject to recall were distributed for further processing and repackaging and will not bear the recalling firm’s establishment number on the package. As the use-by date for products subject to this recall may have expired, consumers can contact their retailers to ask if they received any of these products and if so, consumers are urged to look in their freezers for these products and return or discard them if found.
Dialing 911 Could Be Dangerous
By 11.25.07
Dialing 911 sets off a loud alarm on newer Verizon phones, potentially putting customers in danger. Imagine dashing under your bed at the sound of an intruder breaking through the front door, only to wonder if you should call 911 from your cellphone because it would reveal your location. A Texas woman was forced to make a similar decision when she discovered that the security chain guarding her vacant property was missing.
She grabbed her new Casio G’zOne phone from Verizon Wireless, which to her horror made an audible alarm when she called 911.
China Will Not Be Banned From Exporting Toys To EU
By 11.21.07
Here’s something everyone can be thankful for—the Chinese, Europeans, and tangentially everyone in America and the rest of the world who have spent the better part of last year dodging lead bullets from the factory nation. The European Union’s consumer chief has said that China has made “quantum leaps” in improving its safety protocols, and will therefore not face a ban in the EU.
By 11.21.07
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RECALLS: Baja Motorsports ATVs (lack of tire pressure gauge), L.L. Bean Snow And Sandcastle Kit (sharp edges), Family Dollar Metal Jewelry (lead),Cooper Lighting Fluorescent Shop Lights (electrical shock),Discount School Supply Paint Brushes (lead),Metal Jewelry Sold at Michaels Stores (lead),La Femme NY Inc. Children’s Necklace and Earring Sets (lead),Children’s Metal Jewelry (lead),Cherrydale Fundraising Bracelets (lead),Buy-Rite Children’s Metal Jewelry (lead),Children’s Pencil Pouches Sold In Schools Nationwide (lead), Slipcovers Used With Boppy Pillows (choking and lead), Visual Presenters (fire), Flashing Pacifiers (choking)Heartland® Brand Graham Pie Crusts (undeclared almonds, milk and coconut), Charlemagne Dark Chocolate Organic Bars (undeclared milk), True Man’s Sexual Energy Max, Dietary Supplement (secretly Viagra).
California Sues Toy Companies Over Lead
By 11.20.07
This week, California’s attorney general filed a lawsuit against 20 companies implicated in the various lead-tainted toy fiascos of 2007. The lawsuit “alleges that the companies violated the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986… because they didn’t notify customers of toys in the marketplace that contained high concentrations of lead.” The federal government doesn’t require such labeling, but California does.
Consumer Reports Recommends Electric Turkey Fryers Rather Than Propane
By 11.20.07
Consumer Reports recommends that consumers try new, safer electric turkey fryers this Thanksgiving. Propane powered fryers have this nasty habit of setting themselves on fire—a feature that tends to annoy Consumer Reports, the fire department and the burn unit at your local hospital.
No Refunds For Poisonous Aqua Dots
By 11.20.07
The distributor of children’s toy Aqua Dots, which contained beads that turned into a date rape drug if ingested, is refusing to give refunds to parents. Instead, they want to offer a replacement toy. Some parents are mad as they don’t understand why they should forced to accept another toy from a company that sold them poison the first time around. Here comes the lawsuit! Parents who would rather get a different toy can go to aquadotsrecall.com.
Early Sesame Street DVDs Have "Adults Only" Warnings
By 11.19.07
The producers of Sesame Street have slapped volumes 1 & 2 of the eternally running children’s show with the following warning: “These early ‘Sesame Street’ episodes are intended for grown-ups, and may not suit the needs of today’s preschool child.” Why? Cookie Monster carries a pipe in one recurring parody—and then eats it. Oscar the Grouch is too grouchy and mean. And in the first episode, a grown man—Gordon—asks a little girl to come home with him for milk and cookies… and she does!
Double B Foods Recalls 98,000 Pounds Of Sausages On Fears Of Listeria
By 11.18.07
Double B Foods is recalling 98,000 pounds of their pastry-covered smoked sausage rolls called Kolaches on fears that they may be contaminated with listeria. Listeria monocytogenes is a nasty bug that can kill babies and the elderly, while leaving everyone else stricken with fever, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and other assorted abdominal pains. A full list of affected products and states, after the jump.
$160 Mascara Seized By FDA Because It Can Cause Blindness
By 11.17.07
Earlier today, U.S. marshals seized over 12,000 tubes—about $2 million dollars worth—of Age Intervention Eyelash, sold by Jan Marini Skin Research, Inc. The FDA considers the product “adulterated” and potentially dangerous, and has urged “consumers, dermatologists and beauticians” who have already bought the $160 product to stop using it. So what’s the big deal? According to this lawsuit site, it contains bimatoprost, “an active ingredient in an FDA approved drug to treat elevated intraocular pressure.” Oops.
Cars Are Getting Safer, 34 Vehicles Are "Top Safety Picks"
By 11.16.07
The institute’s tests are tougher than those run by the federal government, and automakers often make changes in the vehicles and pay the institute to re-run its tests to garner better scores for advertising. General Motors Corp. altered the side air bags in its 2008 Saturn Vue to earn a top pick after they failed to deploy correctly in the first test.
Toys R Us Advertising Date Rape Drug Laced Aquadots As A "Door Buster"
By 11.16.07
We’ve been getting several complaints today about Toys R Us’ “Door Buster” newspaper ad. They’re still advertising the GHB-laced Aquadots, despite the recall. (Right next to some ominous-looking Thomas & Friends toys, we might add.)
By 11.16.07
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Recalls: Jetmax Children’s Wooden Storage Rack (death by falling over and landing on child’s neck), 1998-2007 Honda Civics (rupturing, exploding, ejecting natural gas tank), 2007-2008 Forest River Flagstaff and Rockwood camping trailers (cable shaft breaking), GEM NEV 2007 Electrical Cars (parking brake failing), Thule utility trailers (axle falling off), 2008 Polaris Victory / Vision motorcycles (stalling),
Toys R Us Tries To Reassure You After Year Of Recalls
By 11.16.07
Toys R Us has written a reassuring letter to its customers outlining its toy safety policies and threatening to discontinue selling products from any company that ignores them. Since Toys R Us still sells Mattel toys and Thomas & Friends wooden train sets, it’s hard to imagine a company that wouldn’t make the cut.
By 11.15.07
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Recalls: Roost Birch Bark Wrapped Candles (fire, probably not a good idea to put a candle inside a flammable container), Bon-Ton Children’s Bath Robes (burn), Coffee Masters Chipper With Coffee Biscotti (undeclared protein derived from milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and/or soybeans allergens), 2001 Chevy Silverados and GMC Sierras (defective crankshaft), 2007 Chevy Equinox and Pontiac Torrent (increased risk of head injury), 2001 Saturn L Series (timing chain separating), Tiffin RVs (refrigeration coolant leaks), 2004-2007 SUZUKI / GS500 and 2002-2007 SUZUKI / GZ250 (reflectors not reflecting enough).
What To Do With A Recalled Toy
By 11.14.07
In the best scenario, you’ll never make it out of the store with a recalled toy—if you manage to find one still on the shelves, retailers (at least the big ones) will likely catch it at check out because the UPC code will have been flagged. But for those times when you do end up with something that has to go back to the Island of (Really) Misfit Toys, here are some things to consider to reduce problems on your end.
