Crib Recall After Babies Get Trapped

April 29, 2010

WalletPop.com

by Mitch Lipka

Hundreds of thousands cribs are being recalled after they were connected to reports of infants becoming trapped in them, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is announcing today. The recalls are for cribs sold under the Graco and Simplicity brands.

About 217,000 Graco brand drop side cribs made by LaJobi Inc. are being recalled after nearly 100 reports of hardware failure that allowed the drop side of the crib to detach. Six children reportedly fell through the resulting opening and two others became trapped, the CPSC said.

Drop side cribs, once the industry standard, are on the verge of being banned. That style of crib has been blamed for well over a dozen infant and toddler deaths and is no longer being carried by the biggest children’s product retailer, Toys R Us/Babies R Us. This is just one in a long string of crib recalls.

The recalled wood cribs came in cherry, espresso, natural and white finishes. The name “LaJobi” and the crib’s model number can be found on a sticker on the stabilizer bar or on the bottom rail of the crib.

The China- and Vietnam-made cribs were sold nationwide from February 2007 through March 2010 for $140-$200.

If you have one of the cribs, you are asked to stop using it until you receive a hardware kit from LaJobi that will immobilize the drop side.

For more information, call LaJobi at (888) 842-2215 or visit the company’s website.

In a separate announcement, now-defunct Simplicity cribs are once again being recalled after the death of a child. Simplicity cribs are being targeted by the CPSC as a particular danger. A Massachusetts toddler suffocated in 2008 after getting stuck between the mattress and the frame. Another 13 incidents have been reported involving the tubular metal framed cribs bending or coming apart.

The cribs were sold under the Aspen, Chelsea, Graco and Simplicity brands.

The CPSC is urging anyone with one of these cribs to stop using them and find another place for their infant or toddler to sleep.

The safety agency said it does not know how many of these metal-framed cribs were sold. The China-made cribs were sold at chain stores nationwide including Walmart and Target for $150-$300. Consumers can return these cribs to the store where they were purchased for a refund, credit or replacement crib.

Click here for the full report

Graco Recalls Harmony High Chairs for Fall Hazard

March 18, 2010

Today msnbc.com

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with Graco Children’s Products Inc., of Atlanta, Ga., announced a voluntary recall of Graco Harmony High Chairs on Thursday. They said consumers should stop using product immediately unless otherwise instructed. The recall affects about 1.2 million high chairs that were manufactured between November 2003 and December 2009. The high chairs are no longer in production.

The screws holding the front legs of the high chair can loosen and fall out and/or the plastic bracket on the rear legs can crack causing the high chair to become unstable and tip over unexpectedly. This poses a fall hazard to children.

Graco has received 464 reports of screws loosening/falling out and/or plastic brackets cracking causing the high chair to tip over unexpectedly. These tip-over’s resulted in 24 reports of injuries including bumps and bruises to the head, a hairline fracture to the arm, and cuts, bumps, bruises and scratches to the body.

This recall involves all Harmony High Chairs. The Harmony high chair was manufactured from November 2003 through December 2009 and is no longer in production. The model number can be found on the label that is located on the underside of the foot rest.

Model numbers include:

3920BAN   3920BAN2   3920BEB  3920BEBB  3920COV   3920DOH  3920GEI  3920GEIDSP 3920GRN 3920HMP   3920IVY      3920LAU  3920PKR   3930DDH  3930DHO3935CAL        3935OXB 3935PKR    3935PKRDSP 3935SPM  3935SPMDSP 3935THR 3935THR2 3935THR3 3940BIA     3940BIADSP  3940CAP  3940CLE  3940COT  3940DRM  3940HML   3940MCH 3940NGS    3940SAV     3940SLT    3940SPT    3940STA   3940UNN  3951CLO    3951CLT 3951COT    3951ORC     3951WLO  3955WSR  3960BGN  3960CJG  3960CNP      3960GGG 3980CNR    3E00ABB    3E00BAT   3E00DCF  3E00DCFDSP    3E00DGP  3E00DGPDSP  3E00GPK  3E01BDS  3E01BDSCA  3E01DNY  3E01DNY1             3E01ELP 3E01ELPDSP

The model numbers may begin with the letter A, B, C or D. Additional models affected are 1752404, 1755859, 1755860, 1757259, 1757412, and 1760429.

Manufactured in the United States, the affected high chairs were sold at AAFES, Burlington Coat Factory, Babies “R” Us, Toys “R” Us, Sears, Target, Target.com, Walmart, WalMart.com, Shopko, USA Baby, and other retailers nationwide from December 2003 through March 2010 for between $70 and $120.

Consumers who have the affected high chairs should immediately stop using them and contact Graco to receive a free repair kit. To order a free repair kit, contact Graco toll-free at (877) 842-3206 or visit the firm’s Web site at gracobaby.com.  For additional information, contact Graco at (800) 345-4109 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.

Click here for the full report.

BPA Levels Raise 70 Percent When Drinking From Plastic

October 14, 2009

NaturalNews

By David Gutierrez

Drinking water from plastic bottles made with the toxic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) increases urinary levels of the chemical by nearly 70 percent, according to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

BPA, an industrial chemical that makes plastics hard and transparent, is widely used in plastic drinking bottles, infant bottles and other consumer products, and also in resins that line cans of food and infant formula. The chemical has been shown to disrupt the hormonal system, potentially leading to reproductive defects as well as brain damage, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity and diabetes.

“These astonishing results should be a clarion call to lawmakers and public health officials that babies are being exposed to BPA, and at levels that could likely have an impact on their development,” said Renee Sharp, of the Environmental Working Group. “The adults in this study were willing participants who understood the risk of exposure, but babies are unwitting victims of the silent but serious threat this hormone-disrupting chemical poses to their health.”

The study, conducted on 77 student volunteers, was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

A number of major retailers, including Toys R’ Us, Wal-Mart, Nalgene, Gerber, Playtex and others, have agreed to phase out the chemical in some countries. The Environmental Working Group has published a guide to BPA-free baby bottles and formulas, which can be found at www.ewg.org/babysafe.

The state of Minnesota has banned the use of BPA in food containers intended for children three and younger, as have Chicago and New York’s Suffolk County. California and Connecticut are also considering banning the substance.

“If the legislation to protect California’s youngest from further exposure to BPA is defeated, those elected officials responsible for its demise should be held to account for protecting the profits of the chemical industry instead of children’s health,” Sharp said.

Click here for the full report.