SubscribeProduct Recalls
4 Important Lessons That 2011′s Biggest Food Safety Scares Taught Us
While reflecting back on 2011′s many food safety scares, listeria in cantaloups probably leaps to the top of your list, followed closely by ground turkey. Which is fair–massive recalls of whole and cut cantaloups and Cargill’s ground turkey were huge, scary headlines. But being afraid of food isn’t going to help folks stay healthy in 2012. Instead, we have to learn from these events. So what did we learn? That what we already knew, but may have a hard time putting into practice, still holds true: industrially-produced meat and produce spread disease more quickly and can be less safe, and canned and processed items aren’t just less nutritionally sound fresh, whole food (when fresh, whole food isn’t teaming with bacteria); they’re also more likely to be tainted by food-borne illness or unlabeled allergens. More »
Never Miss A Product Recall Again With This FDA-Approved App
With the listeriosis outbreak that’s pulling cantaloupes and lettuce from grocery shelves around the country, a lot of people are thinking about food safety, and what they can do to make sure they never miss a recall. Unfortunately, even with the Internet on our side, by the time information about a recall is circulated, you may have already purchased–or even eaten–a recalled product. But of course, there’s an app for that. More »
Yeast Extraction: Denmark Bans Marmite, Drawing Attention To Misleading Food Claims
In 2004, Denmark passed a law banning the sale of any fortified foods with added vitamins, as they were a threat to public health (insert ironic joke about Danish pastries here). That meant that breakfast cereals like Rice Krispies and Ovaltine drink mixes were removed from Danish shelves. Now, the popular spread Marmite has hit the chopping block. The yeast extract, which tastes like salty garbage juice thickened with mildew (trust me – have you ever tried that stuff?), has popularly been used akin to margarine or peanut butter, and claims to be rich in Vitamin B, but Denmark argues that simply adding vitamins to processed foods and then smacking the label of “healthy” on the package is a threat to the health and wellness of its citizens. And frankly, I couldn’t agree more. More »
Don’t Lose Your Lunch: Tyson is recalling 380,000 pounds of lunch meat sold at Wal-Mart due to contamination. (via Wall Street Journal)
10 Things We Want to Do This Weekend
You can feel it in the air – it’s almost the weekend. And there are a lot of things we want to get done in the next two days:
Get in some personal TLC time.
Whether this means having an orgasm (solo or not) or getting a massage, it’s going to be all about us at some point this weekend.
Read.
The weather is perfect for just sitting outside with an iced tea and getting caught up in a story. An added bonus?… More »
Kolcraft Play Yard Recall
Kolcraft Enterprises is recalling several brands of infant play yards. The play yards are being recalled because the side panels do not properly latch, and when a child leans on them they could collapse and cause an injury. There have been injuries reported with the play yards in question.
The brands affected include:
Kolcraft Travelin’ Tot
Care Bear
Carter’s
Contours
Eric Carle
Jeep
Sesame Street
Over one million of these play yards have been sold. You can find more information on specific model numbers being recalled, and images of… More »
Magnetix Toy Violation Leads To Penalty
We’ve talked about the dangers of Magnetix, and about the recalls here on Play Library before. Now the US Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that Mega Brands will pay a $1.1 million civil penalty for failing to provide necessary information on the potential hazards the toy poses to children.
The recalls and problems have been going on for a couple years, and involves over 1500 complaints of magnets falling out of their holders. Even though several of the building sets… More »
Infantino Is Recalling Several Infant Toys
Infantino is recalling several of their infant toys because of a choking hazard. The recalled toys have metallic fabric which can detach from the toy when chewed on and possibly cause a child to choke.
The toys being recalled include, Activity Stacker models 158-202, Lil’ Chef Set models 158-201 and 558-201, and the Tag Along Chime Trio models 150-3092.
No injuries have been reported, Infantino is recalling the toys as a precaution.
The toys in question were sold at Babies “R” Us, Target,… More »
Disney Stores is Recalling Handy Manny Tool Sets
Disney Stores have issued a voluntary recall of their Handy Manny Tool Sets. The tool sets are sold exclusively at Disney Stores. The tool sets are being recalled because some of the tools have eyes that can detach from the toy and create a choking hazard. If you have the recalled product you should stop using it and return it to the Disney Store nearest you. You can find more information about the recall at… More »
The Peanut Butter Recall Is Expanding
The peanut butter recall is expanding, it now includes 2 varieties of Little Debbie Sandwich Crackers, some Reeses products, Keebler Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, Snack Packs of Famous Amos, Keebler Soft Batch Peanut Butter Cookies, and Ralcorp Frozen Bakery Products Peanut Butter Cookies who provides bakery items for grocery giants like Food Lion, and Wal Mart. The recall is for specific states, but manufacturers say the products could have been redistributed to any state. If you have any… More »
Guitars Used with Nintendo Wii Recalled Due to Chemical Burns
A recall was announced today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 57,000 Rage Wireless Guitars used with the Nintendo Wii game system have been recalled due to a circuit board defect that can lead to chemical burns. The wireless guitar game consoles are 31″ long and came in blue or white (see the pictures above). They were sold at mass merchandisers and specialty retailers across the United States from June 2008 – September 2008 and… More »
Razor USA Recalls
Razor USA has recalled two popular products for safety concerns. First, the Four-Wheeled Razor Dirt Quad Electric Powered Ride-on Vehicles were recalled due to a faulty control module for the throttle that can unexpectedly fail and cause the vehicle to surge forward causing harm to the rider and bystanders. Abut 30,000 units are affected by the recall. You can follow the link to get full details and determine if you own a recalled Razor Ride-on.
Next,… More »
Toy Recall – Fisher Price Learning Pots and Pans
My triplets had the Fisher Price Learning Pots and Pans toy when they were younger. They loved it. In fact, they loved all of the Fisher Price Laugh and Learn toys they had. Unfortunately, the Fisher Price Learning Pots and Pans toy was recalled due to a potential choking hazard last week. It appears that the colorful balls inside the blue pan can come out and pose a choking risk if the small screws on the bottom of the… More »
Fireworks Recalls – Have a Safe Independence Day
It’s July 4th which means people in the United States will celebrate Independence Day today. With July 4th celebrations typically come fireworks, so I wanted to share information about two fireworks recalls from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Black Cat Fireworks (pictured below) have been recalled because unexpected debris can scatter that can hurt the user or bystanders. Fireworks Over America fireworks (pictured below) have been recalled because the parachute connected to each unit can become entangled… More »
Swing Sets Recalled Sold Through Wal-Mart and Toys R Us
If you bought a swing set and climber from Wal-Mart, Walmart.com or Toys R Us between January 2008 and May 2008 that looks like the picture below, it has been recalled by the Consumer Products Safety Commission due to 114 injuries from broken hangers that are supposed to hold the chains for the gliders. The swing set recall notice states that customers should remove the gliders from the swing sets and contact the manufacturer to receive free replacement… More »
Toy Recall – Tumble Tower Rattle by Manhattan Toy
I love the products from Manhattan Toy, and I know many other parents (and babies) love them, too, so I wanted to spread the word about the recent recall of the Tumble Tower Rattle by Manhattan Toy. The rattle is pictured here. According to the toy recall notice, the blue plastic caps on either end of the Tumble Tower Rattle can break, which means the pieces inside will come out posing a choking hazard.
If you have a Manhattan Toy Tumble Tower… More »
Get Your Own Lead Paint Tester for Your Kids’ Toys
The past year has been inundated with toy recalls primarily due to lead paint hazards. I’ve had to get rid of several toys that my children had over the past year that have been recalled because of lead paint.
As a result of the numerous recalls, handheld XRF analyzers are all the rage. What’s a handheld XRF analyzer? Simply put, it tells the amount of lead in any consumer product – including toys.
While handheld XRF analyzers are primarily marketed to supply chain… More »
Plush Rocker Toy Recall by Tek Nek Toys
Tek Nek Toys recalled 122,000 of its plush rocker toys last week. It seems the base of the rocker can tip too far forward or backward leading to dangerous falls. You can read the full toy recall information in the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission press release.
The toy comes in the version pictured above (a brown pony) as well as a pink pony, a pink unicorn, a deluxe pony, a deluxe bull, a penguin, a propeller plane and a Clifford… More »
Cost of China-Made Toys Rising
Hasbro, Inc. says that they expect to see a 14 to 15 percent increase in the cost of made-in-China products because of higher labor, commodity and currency costs. They are also saying that this cost increase is due to additional product safety because of last year’s product recalls that we are all very familiar with. How many of you saw this coming like I did? I had a feeling that the price of toys in general were… More »
Japanese Companies Recall China-Made Globes
The fourth Japanese company,Debika, has had to recall their China-made globes due to the fact that the globes identify Taiwan as a part of China. Many customers and media outlets were not very happy with these globes and wanted them removed from stores immediately. Three other toy companies – Gakken Toys, TakaraTomy and Yanoman – had to do the same thing this past week. Here’s what a spokesman for Debika had to say about the situation: … More »
