Articles Posted in Recalled Products

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If you have read our blog for any amount of time, you have seen countless entries about the recall of toys that contain lead paint. This recent rash of unsafe toy recalls reached a predictable end on Wednesday, January 30th when according to an AP article, lawmakers have stepped up and are asking the largest toy manufacturer in the U.S. to change the way it does business.

Dozens of federal lawmakers are demanding that Mattel stop selling toys that contain any amount of lead, claiming the toy maker is not going far enough to address safety concerns. The demand comes after Mattel’s issuance of recalls for millions of Chinese made toys last year because of concerns that lead paint levels exceeded U.S Standards. The demand, which was contained in a letter released by U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, a Maryland Democrat, was signed by more then 50 fellow lawmakers.

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General Electric has recalled 92,000 combination wall and microwave ovens. The product recalls come after the discovery that the door switch in the ovens can overheat and ignite plastic components in the appliance. The defective units were built by GE Consumer & Industrial, of Louisville, KY and sold under the Kenmore, GE, and GE Profile Brands.

The ovens, which were sold in department and appliance stores between January 2000 and December 2003, were reportedly responsible for 35 instances of property damage due to fire. Continued use of the ovens is dangerous and could potentially put many households in danger.

When we buy something, we assume that it wouldn’t be offered for sale if it weren’t safe to use. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. Every year, thousands of Americans are injured by unsafe consumer products such as defective unsafe household products. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency charged with monitoring the safety of the things we buy and use, recalls hundreds of products each year, and reports that defective products cost America more than $700 billion annually.

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Nissan has announced an auto product recall of over 650,000 of its Altima and Sentra passenger cars to fix problems with a sensor that could lead to engine stalling.

The Japanese automaker said the recalls affects Altima and Sentra vehicles from the 2002 and 2005-2006 model years equipped with a 2.5 liter engine. The crankshaft position sensors could overheat causing an interruption in sensor’s operation. Dealers will reprogram the electronic control module to fix the defective auto product.

The end result of the malfunctioning of this sensor is the engine turning off while the car is being driven at slow speeds. This is a very dangerous scenario for automobile operators. A car whose engine stops while on a busy street or highway puts its driver in serious jeopardy

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Just in time for winter weather comes a recall of wall-mounted heating and cooling units from Carrier, Inc. The company’s wall-mounted heating and cooling units (known as PTAC/PTHPs) are being recalled because the insulation inside them can break, sparking fires and causing toxic smoke. Several specific model numbers sold between January 2002 and December 2006 were recalled Nov. 6; if you think you might have one, you can visit the manufacturer’s recall Web site to arrange a repair.

At least five fires caused by these defects had been reported as of November. Thus far, the fires have all been confined inside the heating units themselves, but they create toxic smoke that can be blown out into the room for occupants to breathe. Because most of these units are used in motels and other enclosed areas where occupants may not attract much attention from passers-by, that smoke could have catastrophic consequences. If the smoke starts while the occupants of the room are asleep, it could go undetected for hours, causing serious smoke inhalation injuries or wrongful deaths.

It doesn’t feel much like winter in South Carolina right now, but we know the cold weather is coming soon, and not everyone has built-in heating. Those folks should be very careful in their choice of stand alone heating devices. Space heaters kill several innocent families every winter with fires or carbon monoxide poisoning. And a March 2007 recall of ventilators with a similar fire hazard defect reported that one fire caused more than $1 million worth of property damage.

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3 new product recalls involving a football helmet, folding chairs, and cookies were announced on November 15th, according to an Associated Press report.

Nike is recalling about 235,000 football helmet chin straps after the company received 18 reports of the straps breaking, including some that resulted in facial lacerations and concussions, a government safety group announced. The straps, which were made in China, were sold at sporting good stores in both youth and adult sizes, between April 2006 through October 2007. For full details consumers are asked to call (803) 454-1200 or visit www.nikebiz.com.

75,000 plastic folding chairs, manufactured by Iceberg Enterprises, are being recalled because of their tendency to collapse. The chairs were sold by office supply retailers between August 2005 and July 2007. For full details consumers are asked to call (800)580-1310 or visit www.cpsc.gov.

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The world’s largest toy manufacturer, Mattel Inc., announced on Tuesday November 6th that it was recalling more than 172,000 Fisher Price kitchen toys in the United States and Europe because several children choked and gagged on small, detachable parts.

The company has received 48 reports of small parts separating from Laugh & Learn 2-in-1 Learning Kitchen, which featured a sink, a refrigerator and a range. One child choked on a detached piece and needed the Heimlich maneuver performed to remove the part. One child started to choke, and two children had pieces in their mouth mouths and gagged from the recalled children’s toy.

“Small parts choking hazards with toys is one of the most serious dangers to children in the United States,” Scott Wolfson, Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman, said. “This should send a message to parents to take this toy away from the child immediately..

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Mattel recalled 665,000 lead-contaminated children’s products and the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced recalls of 627,000 other Chinese-made toys from various manufacturers that are contaminated with lead, according to an Associated Press report.

Mattel, the nation’s largest toy maker recalled 18.6 million toys as of August 14th and Bob Eckert, Mattel’s chief executive, predicted more recalls would occur as a result of stepped-up oversight and testing.

The latest recalls included about 38,000 “Go Diego Go!” Animal Rescue boats, 97,000 children’s toy gardening tools, 80,000 football bobble head cake decorations, about 198,000 Beary Cute, Expressions and Sassy & Chic children’s metal jewelry sets, 110,000 WeGlow children’s metal jewelry sets, and 142,000 purple Halloween pails with witch decorations. All the toy products recalls were because the paints contained high levels of lead.

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A trio of product recalls were announced on October 25th in an Associated Press report. The recalls were for a treadmill, a ski board, and bicycle forks and were all from separate manufacturers.

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A South African baby seat manufacturer recalled about 1 million of its “Baby Sitter” seats after 28 reports of babies falling out of the seats, including three skull fractures, according to an Associated Press report.

Bumbo International, which manufactured the child seats, recalled the products because babies were at risk for serious head injuries when the seats are placed on a table, countertop, chair or other raised surface and the infants arch their backs, possibly causing them to flip out of the seats and fall onto the floor.

The product, which is described as a single piece of molded foam, was sold extensively in the United States at stores like Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, Toys “R” Us, USA Baby, and other children retailers and online stores from August 2003 through October 2007. For more information, consumers are urged to call (877) 932-8626 or visit www.bumbosafety.com .

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Target stores announced the latest in the rash of child toy recalls on October 2nd, according to an NBC News Report. The company is recalling the “Plush Boys Rattles” because of a potential choking hazard.

There are three types of rattles – the orange basketball with black stitching, the white baseball with red stitching, and the brown football with white stitching. Target, which sold the rattles from March through May of this year, indicated that the rattles can break open, releasing small beads which small children can choke on. Target has indicated that consumers can return the rattles to their stores for a full refund.

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