Bump and Beyond

CPSC Alert: Consumers Urged To Stop Using phil&teds USA Clip-on Chairs Due To Serious Dangers Posed To Children

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns consumers that some “metoo” clip-on table top chairs, imported by phil&teds USA Inc., of Fort Collins, Colo. put young children at risk of serious injury due to multiple safety hazards. CPSC is urging consumers to stop using some metoo clip-on chairs immediately.

The product is an infant/toddler chair with a nylon fabric seat and a metal frame that clamps onto tables using two metal vise clamps. The upper part of each clamp rests on the table top and has either a rubber clamp pad on its underside or a rubber boot covering it. The chair is sold in three fabric colors – red, black and navy.

The clip-on chairs affected by this warning do not have plastic spacers between the table clamps and the front horizontal metal bar. The clip-on chairs that have plastic spacers between the table clamps and the front horizontal metal bar are under evaluation.

The company has refused to agree to a national recall of their hazardous product that is acceptable to CPSC. The company has offered a repair kit consisting of rubber boots to place on the upper clamp grips of the chairs. Consumers should be aware that CPSC has not approved a repair kit for this product, despite the firm’s prior statement that it was conducting a recall “in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.”

CPSC is urging consumers to stop using the affected metoo chairs at this time in order to prevent the risk of injury to children.

The affected metoo chairs pose serious fall and amputation hazards to children placed in them. Children can suffer impact and head injuries when the chair detaches from the table and falls with them in it. CPSC staff is aware of numerous incidents involving the affected metoo chairs.

For more information visit the CPSC.

December 23, 2010

BabyLegs Recalls Baby Socks and Leg Warmers with Heart Appliqué Due to Choking Hazard

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Name of Product: Baby leg warmers and socks

Hazard: The leg warmers and socks have a heart appliqué that can detach, posing a choking hazard to small children.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received one report of an infant choking on the heart-shaped appliqué. Her mother was able to dislodge the appliqué from her throat. No medical attention was required.

Description: This recall involves only those BabyLegs brand leg warmers, ankle-high socks and knee-high socks adorned with a heart-shape appliqué. The recalled products are pink, white or purple cable knit socks and leg warmers.

Sold at: www.babylegs.com and independent retailers from August 2010 to November 2010 for about $11 per pair.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled socks and leg warmers away from children. Consumers can remove and discard the heart appliqué to eliminate the hazard or contact BabyLegs to receive a full refund or a coupon to be redeemed on the BabyLegs website.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact BabyLegs toll-free at (888) 791-6098 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or visit the firm's website at www.babylegs.com

Bassettbaby Recalls to Repair Drop-Side Cribs Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

Hazard: The cribs' drop-side rail can malfunction, detach or otherwise fail, causing part of the drop side to detach from the crib. When a drop-side rail partially detaches, it creates a space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. An infant or toddler's body can become entrapped in the space, which can lead to strangulation and/or suffocation. A child also can fall out of the crib. Drop-side incidents also can occur due to incorrect assembly and age-related wear and tear.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm and CPSC are aware of 18 reported incidents in which drop-sides malfunctioned or detached from the crib. No injuries were reported. In one of the incidents a child became entrapped between the mattress and the drop-side. In three of the incidents children fell out of the cribs. The firm also has received 154 reports of drop-side hardware breaking during shipment, assembly or use.

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled drop-side cribs and contact Bassettbaby for a free kit that will immobilize the drop side. In the meantime, parents are urged to find an alternate, safe sleeping environment for the child, such as a bassinet, play yard or toddler bed depending on the child's age.

Sold at: Children's product stores, and other retailers nationwide and on-line from January 2000 through August 2010 for between about $200 and $500. Contact www.bassettbaby.com or more information.

Graco Recalls Quattro™ and MetroLite™ Strollers Due to Risk of Entrapment and Strangulation. Four Infant Strangulation Deaths Reported! The strollers were distributed between November 2000 and December 2007 and are dangerous when the child is not harnessed. An infant can pass through the opening between the stroller tray and seat bottom, but his/her head and neck can become entrapped by the tray. Infants who become entrapped at the neck are at risk of strangulation. Contact Graco for a repair kit and more information.

Infant's Overalls Recalled by Lollytogs Due to Choking Hazard in the US and Canada. The overalls are by Carhartt and have snaps that could loosen and become a choking hazard for children.

Munchkin has recalled Bathtub Subs, a battery-operated submarine toy. The valve on the bottom can suck up loose skin so please stop using it. Click here for details.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today warned consumers to stop using infant sleep positioners.

CPSC and the FDA are warning parents and child care providers to:

STOP using sleep positioners. Using a positioner to hold an infant on his or her back or side for sleep is dangerous and unnecessary.
NEVER put pillows, infant sleep positioners, comforters, or quilts under a baby or in a crib.
ALWAYS place an infant on his or her back at night and during nap time. To reduce the risk of SIDS, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends placing infants to sleep on their backs and not their sides.

Also, the American Academy of Pediatrics does not support the use of any sleep positioner to prevent SIDS. Click here for more information.

Abbott Laboratories has voluntarily recalled Similac infant powder formulas. Abbott is recalling these products following an internal quality review, which detected the remote possibility of the presence of a small common beetle in the product produced in one production area in a single manufacturing facility. The United States Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) has determined that while the formula containing these beetles poses no immediate health risk, there is a possibility that infants who consume formula containing the beetles or their larvae, could experience symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal to eat as a result of small insect parts irritating the GI tract. If these symptoms persist for more than a few days, a physician should be consulted.

The recall of these powder infant formulas includes:

Certain Similac powder product lines offered in plastic containers.
Certain Similac powder product lines offered in 8-ounce, 12.4-ounce and 12.9-ounce cans.

To immediately find out if the product in your possession is included in this recall, parents and caregivers should visit www.similac.com/recall/lookup, and type in their lot number to determine if their product is affected, or call (888) 376-2054.

Sorelle brand “Prescott” fixed-sided cribs have recalled about 130 cribs due to mattress support frames that bend or detach, causing part of the mattress to drop.  This creates a space into which a baby can roll and become entrapped or fall out of the crib.  There have been two cases of child entrapment and one death of a child from Attleboro, Mass.

Baby Matters Recalls Nap Nanny® Recliners Due to Entrapment, Suffocation and Fall Hazards; One Infant Death Reported. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Baby Matters LLC, of Berwyn, Pa., is announcing the voluntary recall of 30,000 Nap Nanny® portable baby recliners. CPSC is investigating a report of a 4-month-old girl from Royal Oak, Mich. who died in a Nap Nanny® that was being used in a crib. According to preliminary reports, the infant was in her harness and found hanging over the side of the product, caught between the Nap Nanny® and the crib bumper. Read more details here.