Nov. 2016 Edition OFFICE LOCATION

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Nov. 2016 Edition OFFICE LOCATION CONSUMER News Nov. 2016 Edition PROTECTION Dear Wisconsin Children’s Safety Advocates: In October 2016, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a total of 8 recalls relating to products affecting children. Attached is a summary of the releases identifying the product, the problem, and what should be done with the recalled product. We have found that not all of the recalls are picked up by the news media as they occur. This monthly summary will give you the opportunity to review all of the children’s product safety recalls for the past month. If you are interested in a complete text of the recall, double click on the hyperlink at the end of the recall description. This will direct you to the recall notice located on the CPSC website. Hallee Recalls Bed Canopies Due to Entanglement and Strangulation Hazards (17-701) FULLBEAUTY Brands Recalls Children’s Nightgowns Due to Violation of Federal Flammability Standard (17-702) Summer Infant Recalls Infant Bath Tubs Due to Risk of Impact Injury and Drowning (17-707) Mamas & Papas Recalls Armadillo Strollers Due to Fall Hazard (17-010) Roylco Recalls Educational Light Cubes Due to Fire Hazard WISCONSIN (17-012) DEPARTMENT OF Chimparoo Baby Carriers by L’echarpe Porte-bonheaur AGRICULTURE, Recalled Due to Fall Hazard (17-014) Target Recalls Halloween LED Gel Clings Due to Choking and TRADE AND Button Battery Ingestion Hazards (17-020) CONSUMER Fiddle Diddles Recalls Car Seat Strap Systems Due to PROTECTION Choking Hazard (17-705) If you would like to sign up for the Keep Your Kids Safe newsletter, please subscribe at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/WIDATCP/subscriber/new?topic_id OFFICE LOCATION =WIDATCP_161 or contact Bobbi Erb at (608) 224-4955 or [email protected]. 2811 Agriculture Drive Madison, WI 53708-8911 If you have any questions or want to file a complaint regarding an unsafe product, contact: 1-800-422-7128 608 -224-4960 Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Bureau of Consumer Protection 2811 Agriculture Drive Madison, WI 53708 (800) 422-7128 (toll free in Wisconsin) 1 KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE Release Number: (#17-701) Hallee, Inc., of consumers that purchased the recalled Santa Cruz, C.A., is announcing the voluntary nightgowns. You can contact FULLBEAUTY recall of about 1,000 bed canopies. Brands at 800-313-8803 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 Problem: A child can become entangled in the p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email bed canopy, posing entanglement and [email protected] or online at strangulation hazards. www.fbbrands.com and click on Recall What to do: Consumers should immediately Information for more information. stop using the recalled bed canopies and contact Hallee for a full refund or a replacement bed canopy with new warning labels. The firm is contacting all known purchasers directly. You can contact Hallee at 800-265-5694 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday, email at [email protected] or online at www.HalleeInc.com and click on “Product Recall” for more information https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/FULLBEAUT Y-Brands-Recalls-Childrens-Nightgowns Release Number: (#17-707) Summer Infant, Inc., of Woonsocket, R.I., announces the https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/Hallee- voluntary recall of about 86,000 Lil’ Luxuries Recalls-Bed-Canopies Whirlpool, Bubbling Spa & Shower with fabric slings. The infant bath tub is a battery-operated Release Number: (#17-702) FULLBEAUTY whirlpool bath with motorized jets intended for Brands L.P., of N.Y., announces the recall of use with children from birth to 2 years. The about 31,500 girl’s Dreams & Co.® by product contains a fabric sling on a plastic frame FULLBEAUTY Brands knit cotton jersey onto which the infant is placed for bathing. The “daughter Henley” styled nightgown. The fabric sling on the recalled bath tubs does not nightgowns have picot edge trim and a button have a white plastic attachment clip to hold the placket on the center front of the chest. The headrest area of the fabric sling to the plastic nightgowns were sold in children’s sizes: 6/6X, frame. 7/8 and 10/12 in the following five different Problem: Fabric slings on the recalled infant prints. The style number is printed on the side bath tubs can detach from the tub, posing a risk seam label of the nightgown. of impact injury and drowning. Problem: The nightgowns fail to meet federal What to do: Consumers should immediately flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, stop using the fabric sling in the recalled product posing a risk of burn injuries to children. and contact Summer Infant for a replacement What to do: Consumers should immediately fabric sling with a white plastic attachment clip. take the recalled nightgowns away from children You can contact Summer Infant toll free at 844- and contact the firm for instructions on receiving 612-4254 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday a full refund or a company gift card for 125% of through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET on the purchase price. The firm is contacting Friday, or online at www.summerinfant.com and 2 click on “Safety Alerts & Recalls” at the bottom a white cube measuring 16 inches high by 16 of the page for more information. inches wide by 16 inches deep. The cubes have a light source and a battery located in the base. The cube is primarily used for creative learning involving light in the early childhood classroom. Problem: The light cube’s lithium polymer battery can overheat and catch fire, posing a fire hazard. What to do: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled light cubes and contact Roylco for instructions on returning the light cubes for a free replacement of the light source, https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/Summer- which contains the battery. You can contract Infant-Recalls-Infant-Bath-Tubs Roylco at 800-362-8656 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at Release Number: (#17-010) Mamas & Papas www.roylcostore.com and click on “Product Ltd, of UK, is announcing the voluntary recall of Recall” for more information. about 3,000 Armadillo Flip and Armadillo Flip XT strollers. All models are folding, single-occupant infant strollers. The strollers come in various colors including black, teal and navy and weigh about 22 pounds. Recalled items can be identified by their lot number, which is the month and year of manufacture. Lot numbers ranges for recalled Armadillo Flip strollers are 00814 through 00416 (August 2014 through April 2016). Problem: A loose latch on the stroller can cause https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/Roylco- the seat to tip back unexpectedly when infant is Recalls-Educational-Light-Cubes in the parent-facing position, posing a fall hazard to infants. Release Number: (#17-014) L’echarpe Porte- What to do: Consumers should immediately bonheaur Inc., of Canada, is announcing the stop using the strollers and contact Mamas & voluntary recall of about 130 Chimparoo brand Papas for a free repair. You can contact Mamas Trek baby carriers that allow the user to carry a & Papas at 800-309-6312 anytime or online at baby tummy to tummy, on the hip or on the www.mamasandpapas.com/us and click on back. The 100% twill fabric carriers were sold in Recall Notice for more information. 18 solid, striped and pattern color combinations. The carriers attach to the wearer’s body with adjustable straps made of polypropylene webbing and plastic buckles. “Chimparoo” is printed on the upper right hand corner of the carrier. “Trek” is embroidered on the belt. Problem: The carriers’ side strap can loosen unexpectedly from the buckle, posing a fall hazard to the child in the carrier. What to do: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled baby carriers and contact https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2016/Infant- Chimparoo for a free replacement buckle for the Carriers-Recalled baby carrier’s side buckle. You can contact Chimparoo toll-free at 855-289-5343 from 9 a.m. Release Number: (#17-012) Roylco, Inc., of to 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, email at Anderson, S.C., is announcing the voluntary [email protected] or online at recall of about 1,400 Roylco Educational Light www.Chimparoo.ca/en/recall and click on Cubes with model number R59601. The model “Product Recall” at the bottom of the page. number is located on the user guide included with the light cube. The educational light cube is 3 adjustable car seat strap system with model number LB1001. The strap system includes two fabric straps, carabiner hardware, a mesh car seat cover and a tote bag. The carabiners are used to hang a car seat from a shopping cart. The model number is printed on the gray straps. “Fiddle Diddles” is printed on a fabric label attached to the mesh car seat cover, tote bag and fabric straps. Problem: The carabiners attached to the strap system contain small internal parts that can become dislodged, posing a choking hazard to https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2017/Chimparoo- young children. Baby-Carriers-by-Lecharpe-Porte-bonheaur- What to do: Consumers should immediately Recalled stop using the LullaBelay strap system and contact Fiddle Diddles for a free repair kit with Release Number: (#17-020) Target Corp., of three new carabiners. The firm is contacting all Minneapolis, M.N., is announcing the voluntary known purchasers directly. You can contact recall of about 127,000 Halloween-themed LED Fiddle Diddles toll-free at 888-741-2957 from 9 gel clings that come with two non-replaceable a.m.
Recommended publications
  • Product Retrieval Procedures
    PRODUCT RETRIEVAL PROCEDURES X-1 INDEX PAGE Overview 3 Analysis of FDA Recall Guidelines 4 A Product Retrieval Blueprint for Action 11 Food & Drug Regulations Title 21, Chapter 1 32 Subchapter A, Parts 7, 7.1 through 7.49 Method for Conducting Retrieval Effectiveness Checks 46 Published by Food and Drug Administration Example -- Corporate Retrieval Program 56 X-2 FOOD AND DRUG RECALL GUIDELINES OVERVIEW The regulations set forth in the Federal Register on June 16, 1978, established the following facts: 1. If an emergency of retrieval arises, it is the responsibility of a manufacturer or distributor to initiate voluntarily and carry out a retrieval of its product that is found to be in violation of the Food and Drug Act. 2. The retrieval must be initiated when the manufacturer discovers or is informed of the infraction. 3. The burden in carrying out a retrieval is totally that of a manufacturer or distributor. 4. Although a retrieval will be conducted by a manufacturer or distributor, it must be carried out to satisfaction of the FDA. To be able to conduct a product retrieval to the satisfaction of the FDA, the following preparation and conditions are essential: 1. An established contingency plan. 2. Assigned responsibility and authority to specific management personnel to carry out the contingency plan. 3. A thorough understanding of the regulation guidelines on retrieval. 4. Recognition of the urgency that FDA places on effectiveness, promptness and thoroughness. 5. Accurate documentation of ingredient and materials used. 6. Accurate documentation of distribution of products. 7. Accurate coding. The proof of effectiveness can only be learned through Trial Runs.
    [Show full text]
  • GLOBAL PRODUCT RECALL FOURTH EDITION Handbook
    GLOBAL PRODUCT RECALL FOURTH EDITION Handbook Global Product Recall Handbook Fourth Edition Global Product Recall Handbook | Fourth Edition Foreword Baker McKenzie was founded in 1949. For almost seven decades, we have provided nuanced, sophisticated advice and leading-edge legal services to many of the world’s most dynamic and successful business organizations. With more than 7,000 internationally experienced lawyers in 47 countries, including 36 of the world’s largest economies, Baker McKenzie provides expertise in all of the substantive disciplines needed to formulate, develop and implement a global product recall. Our fluency in working across borders, issues and practices allows us to simplify legal complexity, foresee regulatory, legal, compliance, reputational, and commercial risks others may overlook and identify commercial opportunities that many miss. Taken together, this combination of deep practical experience and technical and substantive skills makes us advisers of choice to many of the world’s leading multinational corporations. Our clients want a new breed of lawyers with excellent technical skills and industry expertise who can look ahead to help them navigate a constantly changing product regulatory landscape. It means having lawyers who can anticipate what is coming next and provide practical legal resources that are helpful to the business at all levels. The Global Product Recall Handbook is one such resource, collecting, combining and synthesizing the advice of lawyers throughout Baker McKenzie focused on the consumer goods, pharmaceutical and medical devices, food and beverage, and motor vehicle industries. We are pleased also to make this edition of the Handbook available on a dedicated Dynamic Publisher site and accompanying mobile app.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Recalls Conceptualized As Social Dilemmas
    PRODUCT RECALLS CONCEPTUALIZED AS SOCIAL DILEMMAS By SKYLER MASAJI KING A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY Carson College of Business MAY 2016 © Copyright by SKYLER MASAJI KING, 2016 All Rights Reserved © Copyright by SKYLER MASAJI KING, 2016 All Rights Reserved To the Faculty of Washington State University: The members of the Committee appointed to examine the dissertation of SKYLER MASAJI KING find it satisfactory and recommend that it be accepted. ___________________________________ Jeff Joireman, Ph.D., Chair ___________________________________ Andrew Perkins, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Joyce Ehrlinger, Ph.D. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Throughout my time here at Washington State University, I have had the opportunity to meet exceptional scholars. First and foremost I would like to thank Dr. Jeff Joireman for his mentorship and guidance from day one. I could not have asked for a better mentor and friend throughout my time here. He has offered caring support throughout the program, allowing me to make and learn from my mistakes and never letting me take the easy way out through any process or project. Dr. Joireman, you have been a dedicated mentor and I sincerely hope to not only grow into a successful scholar like you are, but also grow into the type of person you are. I would also like to thank Drs. Andrew Perkins and Joyce Ehrlinger for the great resource they have been throughout the dissertation process. I feel very fortunate to have learned from them. Their academic pedigree is truly amazing. Additionally, their enthusiasm for research and helping students is second to none and I hope to emulate their knowledge and work ethic throughout my career in academia.
    [Show full text]
  • THE WESTFIELD LEADER the Leading and Most Widely Circulated Weekly Xeuspaper in Union County
    THE WESTFIELD LEADER The Leading and Most Widely Circulated Weekly Xeuspaper In Union County I'ulillahed 28 Pages—15 Cents EIGHl WESTFIELD, KEW JERSEY, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 21. 1978 ICvery Thumday T ^e Drinking Arrests Triple in '78 $15.5 Million School In a joint effort this week teenage arrests related to school Christmas vacation, grounds, are used as an area Parents must know. too. to reduce the rising in- alcoholic consumption. To parents are urged to give where teenagers gather and there have been incidents of cidence of teenage date, for this year, the special attention to teenage have drinking and smoking students bringing alcoholic alcoholism, the Children. number has risen to 106 parties, remembering that • marijuanai parties. As a beverages to school. The Youth and Recreation arrests, and the year is not the use of alcohol by minors display of cooperation to law is very explicit that no Budget Anticipated Committee of P-T Council. over Included in these is not only illegal, but ex- combat teenage drinking, student, regardless uf age. working with the Westfield statistics are children ages tremely dangerous to their marijuana usage and may use alcoholic Police Department, 13 through 17. Most of these young bodies. Police vandalism, the Westfield beverages while attending Indications of a 1979-80 elementary advanced is not bad," he said. year. released the following in- youngsters were so in-statistics reveal, also an Board of Education gave school, or any school func- school budget in the neigh- learning centers for above The
    [Show full text]
  • Lab Activity and Assignment #2
    Lab Activity and Assignment #2 1 Introduction You just got an internship at Netfliz, a streaming video company. Great! Your first assignment is to create an application that helps the users to get facts about their streaming videos. The company works with TV Series and also Movies. Your app shall display simple dialog boxes and help the user to make the choice of what to see. An example of such navigation is shown below: Path #1: Customer wants to see facts about a movie: >> >> Path #2: Customer wants to see facts about a TV Series: >> >> >> >> Your app shall read the facts about a Movie or a TV Show from text files (in some other course you will learn how to retrieve this information from a database). They are provided at the end of this document. As part of your lab, you should be creating all the classes up to Section 3 (inclusive). As part of your lab you should be creating the main Netfliz App and making sure that your code does as shown in the figures above. The Assignment is due on March 8th. By doing this activity, you should be practicing the concept and application of the following Java OOP concepts Class Fields Class Methods Getter methods Setter methods encapsulation Lists String class Split methods Reading text Files Scanner class toString method Override superclass methods Scanner Class JOptionPane Super-class sub-class Inheritance polymorphism Class Object Class Private methods Public methods FOR loops WHILE Loops Aggregation Constructors Extending Super StringBuilder Variables IF statements User Input And much more..
    [Show full text]
  • Product Recalls, Imperfect Information, and Spillover Effects: Lessons from the Consumer Response to the 2007 Toy Recalls
    NBER WORKING PAPER SERIES PRODUCT RECALLS, IMPERFECT INFORMATION, AND SPILLOVER EFFECTS: LESSONS FROM THE CONSUMER RESPONSE TO THE 2007 TOY RECALLS Seth M. Freedman Melissa Schettini Kearney Mara Lederman Working Paper 15183 http://www.nber.org/papers/w15183 NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH 1050 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138 July 2009 We gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Severin Borenstein, Jonathan Guryan, Judy Hellerstein, Ginger Jin, Arik Levinson, Soohyung Lee, Nuno Limao, and Abigail Wozniak as well as seminar participants at the University of Maryland, Rotman School of Management, the Energy Institute at U.C. Berkeley, Georgetown, UC-Davis, UC-Irvine, and University of Michigan. We thank Danny Kim at NPD for answering our questions about the toy sales data and Kevin Mak at the Rotman Finance Lab for his assistance with assembling the stock price data. Molly Reckson provided capable research assistance. Financial support from the AIC Institute for Corporate Citizenship at the Rotman School of Management is gratefully acknowledged. The views expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER working papers are circulated for discussion and comment purposes. They have not been peer- reviewed or been subject to the review by the NBER Board of Directors that accompanies official NBER publications. © 2009 by Seth M. Freedman, Melissa Schettini Kearney, and Mara Lederman. All rights reserved. Short sections of text, not to exceed two paragraphs, may be quoted without explicit permission provided that full credit, including © notice, is given to the source. Product Recalls, Imperfect Information, and Spillover Effects: ¸˛Lessons from the Consumer Response to the 2007 Toy Recalls Seth M.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Durability and Life
    A111Q3 Qtbbfll \ V) NBS SPECIAL PUBLICATION 514 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / National Bureau of Standards Product Durability and Life MFPG 27th Meeting WATIONAL BURBAtJ OF STANDARDS JjIBflARY MFPG Product Durability and Life Proceedings of the 27th Meeting of the Mechanical Failures Prevention Group, held at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland, November 1-3, 1977 Edited by . T. Robert Shives and William A. Willard National Measurement Laboratory National Bureau of Standards Washington, DC 20234 The 27th meeting of the MFPG and these proceedings were sponsored by the Institute for Materials Research and the Cen- ter for Consumer Product Technology of the National Bureau of Standards, Washington, DC 20234; the Office of Naval Research, Department of the Navy, Arlington, VA 22217; the Naval Air Development Center, Department of the Navy, Warminster, PA 18974; the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771; and the Department of Energy-Fossil Energy, Washington, DC 20545. This work was co-sponsored by the Institute for Materials Research prior to the NBS reorganization effective April 9, 1978. The Institute for Materials Research is now included in the National Measurement Laboratory of NBS. * Qin U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Juanita M. Kreps, Secretary Dr. Sidney Harman, Under Secretary Jordan J. Baruch, Assistant Secretary for Science and Technology NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Ernest Annbler, Director Issued May 1978 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Mechanical Failures Prevention Group. MFPG, product durability and life. (National Bureau of Standards Special publication ; 514) "Sponsored by the Institute for Materials Research . [et asl.]." Supt.ofDocs.no.: C13.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Recall Manual Product Recall Manual
    Product Recall Manual Product Recall Manual Intended for intermediate compliance programs Preparation Is Essential A recall happens nearly every day, but it is easy to think that it can’t happen to you. The reality is that we are all at risk of becoming involved in a recall and once you are involved in it you have an obligation to respond immediately—that is, within 24 hours you must take some action. And that makes prior preparation essential. • Anticipate Problem Products. You have an obligation to continuously survey the market to learn about consumer products that have been or could be recalled. • Preparation Mitigates Consequences. Delays in taking action or reporting product defects can result in hefty fines and penalties. You must be prepared to react quickly and effectively to protect your company, your customers and the industry. • Set A Process In Place. Develop a solid and detailed recall plan. • Communicate. Make sure your entire team understands their respective roles and responsibilities, procedures and important regulatory information and is prepared to move promptly. Monitor The Market You have an obligation to continuously survey the market —monitoring www.saferproducts.gov, news media, and social media—to learn about consumer products that have been or could be recalled. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) expects you to do this for all of your products—even if they are not subject to any specific rules or testing requirements. A manufacturer, importer, distributor and/or retailer of consumer products must notify the CPSC immediately if it obtains information which reasonably supports the conclusion that a product distributed in commerce poses a substantial product hazard to consumers.
    [Show full text]
  • Challenges to Consumer Policy in the Digital Age
    www.oecd.org/sti/consumer CHALLENGES www.oecd.org/going-digital TO CONSUMER http://oe.cd/digital-economy-papers POLICY IN THE @OECDInnovation DIGITAL AGE Background Report G20 International Conference on Consumer Policy TOKUSHIMA, JAPAN 5-6 SEPTEMBER 2019 2 CHALLENGES TO CONSUMER POLICY IN THE DIGITAL AGE This report is issued under the responsibility of the Secretary General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries or of the G20. This document, as well as any data and any map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. © OECD, 2019 © OECD 2019 CHALLENGES TO CONSUMER POLICY IN THE DIGITAL AGE 3 Foreword The digital transformation that is underway in our economies and societies has provided consumers with a wealth of commercial opportunities while also bringing a number of new and emerging risks. This report provides an overview of selected key benefits and challenges faced by digital consumers, in support of discussions at the G20 International Conference on Consumer Policy in Tokushima, Japan on 5-6 September 2019. It focuses on six issue areas of particular importance to policy makers: adjusting policy to rapidly changing technologies (Chapter 1) strengthening cross-border co-operation (Chapter 2) enhancing the impact of product recalls in the digital age (Chapter 3) dispute resolution and redress and new technologies (Chapter 4) the role of consumer protection agencies in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (Chapter 5) protecting vulnerable consumers in the digital age (Chapter 6).
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between Confidence and Accuracy: Current Thoughts of the Literature and a New Area of Research [Electronic Version]
    THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONFIDENCE AND ACCURANCY: CURRENT THOUGHTS OF THE LIT- ERATURE AND A NEW AREA OF RE- SEARCH Kevin Krug Southeastern Oklahoma State University Many believe the levels of confidence eyewitness’ express when identifying crimi- nal suspects in lineups or testifying in trials make good predictors of their memory accu- racy. Traditionally known as the confidence-accuracy (CA) relationship, the assumption is that as one’s confidence increases so does thier level of accuracy. The research litera- ture has addressed the CA relationship along three main lines: examining rates of confi- dence and accuracy in memory for general knowledge (factual information), determining if the CA relationship can be divided into subsections in which performance levels are consistent, and developing measures to raise the value of the CA relationship. The lit- erature outlining the role of the CA relationship in criminal suspect identification is in- deed extensive, but there is little mention of a new field of interest in which the CA rela- tionship is applied to eyewitness memory for product brand names. While there are a number of factors present during every trial which may ultimately decide the fate of a defendant, some factors are given more credence than others, particularly by the jury de- ciding the case. In some cases, the only available evidence to a jury may be the testimony of a witness who has claimed to have seen or been aware of the offenses committed by the defendant. Frequently, the jury uses a witness’s level of subjective confi- Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Product Recalls
    Loss Control Services Product Recalls Take the proper steps to manage product recalls. Recall products after the discovery of defects. To ensure consumer safety, manufacturers must design and produce products to meet a variety of required and voluntary safety standards. Besides safety, there are financial, moral, and legal obligations involved in quickly addressing product concerns. These obligations include addressing complaints and taking appropriate action to correct safety issues, including the recall of products. The Consumer Product Safety Commission reported 241 such recalls recently, ranging from unstable furniture to flammable clothing. The largest and most prominent reason for recall was the defective design of five million infant sleepers, which was tied to more than thirty deaths. Plaintiff attorneys are increasingly using a company’s failures to promptly and adequately recall as additional reasons to argue for large product settlements. Several large auto manufacturers have also been subject to large fines and penalties for their delays in recall efforts. Failure to properly plan for a recall scenario can expose the consumer to unnecessary harm, severely tarnish your brand reputation, increase financial liability, and potentially expose you to civil and even criminal penalties. See the following pages for practical steps your business can take. Loss Control Services 2 Product Recalls Manufacturers need to react quickly and effectively, and be transparent about the type, source, and level of defect. The goal is to retain the trust of the marketplace, so a company can survive after a recall. The timely, well-communicated, and well-executed recall of a product can have a strong influence on consumers’ attitudes about a business.
    [Show full text]
  • Letters from Staff Raise Serious Policy and Legal Concerns
    July 15, 2014 VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL The Honorable Robert Adler Acting Chairman U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission 4330 East West Highway Bethesda, MD 20814 Dear Acting Chairman Adler: The undersigned organizations express concern with recent revisions to the standard monthly progress reporting form1 for use in reporting progress toward completing the commitments made by firms in connection with Corrective Action Plans (“CAPs”) related to voluntary product recalls. Though we appreciate efforts by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“Commission” or “CPSC”) and its staff to streamline the form, the revised form and new obligations that are being demanded by staff and included in new CAP acceptance letters from staff raise serious policy and legal concerns. The revised form includes two new sections of particular concern. The Commission seeks information related to a firm’s use of Facebook, Twitter and other social media in connection with the product recall. The Commission also asks firms about their efforts at monitoring online auction sites for the recalled product and to describe the “action taken” by the firm in connection with such efforts. We understand that new obligations to use social media and to monitor online auction sites are being included unilaterally and without supporting legal authority by CPSC Compliance staff in new CAP acceptance letters to recalling companies. Moreover, inclusion of these two new sections and the direction to use the new form when submitting monthly progress reports for previously-recalled products suggests a unilateral retroactive modification of previously-negotiated CAPs. It is particularly troubling that these changes are being implemented outside of the proposed rulemaking on voluntary remedial actions and guidelines for voluntary recall notices, which purports to cover these types of issues.
    [Show full text]