Be Child Safe

Author: Marianne Halterman

  • Kid’s Korner Children’s Zipper Hooded Sweatshirts Recalled by Kroger Due to Choking Hazard

    Recall Date: March 11, 2015

    Recall Number: 15-096

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: Children’s zipper hooded sweatshirts

    Hazard: The sweatshirt zipper pull can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

    Remedy: Refund

    Consumers should immediately take the sweatshirt away from young children and return it to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers without a sales receipt will be refunded current retail price.

    Consumer Contact: Kroger at (800) 576-4377 from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or online at www.kroger.com and click on the Recall Alerts link at the top of the main page for more information.

    Recall Details

    Units: About 140,000

    Description: This recall involves Kids Korner brand boy’s, girl’s and toddler’s cotton/poly blend fleece zipper hooded sweatshirts with a front zipper, two front pockets and knit ribbing around the wrists and waist. The sweatshirts were sold in 62 different prints and solid colors in infant, toddler to children’s size 4. The size can be found on a label sewn into the back seam of the neck. A white label sewn into the lower left inside seam reads Inter-American Products, Lahore, Pakistan and has style number ending in 8025, 8025P, 8128, 8128P, 8174P, 8251, 8326 or 8326P. Also on the label are the following manufacture dates: March 2014, April 2014, June 2014 or November 2014 and batch numbers: 1, FLC-P5, FLC-P6 or FLC-P8. To view photos of all recalled sweatshirts, visit the Recall Alerts section on the firm’s web site.

    Incidents/Injuries: Kroger has received one report of a zipper pull detaching from the sweatshirt. No injuries have been reported.

    Sold at: Dillons, Fred Meyer, King Soopers Marketplace, Kroger, Smith’s and Fry’s Marketplace and other stores nationwide from June 2014 through February 2015 for between $8 and $10.

    Importer: Fred Meyer, Inc., of Portland, Ore. dba Kroger of Cincinnati, Ohio

    Manufactured in: Pakistan

  • Children’s Pajamas Recalled by KTM North America for Violation of Federal Flammability Standard

    Recall Date: March 4, 2015

    Recall Number: 15-089

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: Children’s Pajamas

    Hazard: The pajamas fail to meet federal flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.

    Remedy: Refund

    Consumers should immediately take the recalled pajamas away from children, stop using them and return them to KTM North America, Inc. for a full refund.

    Consumer Contact: KTM North America, Inc. toll-free at (888) 985-6090 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday or online at www.ktmusa.com and click on “Recall Information” link at the bottom of the page for more information.

    Recall Details

    Units: About 2,800

    Description: This recall involves children’s onesies and two-piece KTM motocross pajamas. The Baby Racing Body onesies are 95% cotton and 5% elastane and were sold in three prints. One is orange with white sleeves and the KTM brand logo on the left chest. The second is white and orange with the KTM brand logo in bold orange printed on the center front of the chest and on the left and right hip. The third onesie is yellow with orange and black detailing and the KTM brand logo printed on the left. All onesies are long-sleeved and have snap closures from the neck to the left ankle and were sold in sizes 18 months to 2T.

    The two-piece, long-sleeve and pant pajama sets are 100% cotton and were sold in two prints. The Kids Racing Gear pajama is white with black, orange and grey detailing on the top and pant with a black elastic waistband and KTM printed on the left side of the chest. This set was sold in sizes 2T through 5T. The Kids Gravity Gear pajama two-piece set is white with blue, and orange detailing on the top and pant with an elastic waistband in orange and KTM printed on the left side of the chest and on the right hand wrist. This set was sold in sizes XXS through L.

    Incidents/Injuries: None reported

    Sold at: Authorized KTM motorcycle shops nationwide from August 2012 through January 2015 for between $28 and $32.

    Importer: KTM North America, Inc., of Amherst, Ohio

    Manufactured in: China

  • Dream on Me Recalls 2-in-1 Bassinet to Cradle Due to Fall and Suffocation Hazards

    Recall Date: March 3, 2015

    Recall Number: 15-088

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: 2-in-1 Bassinet to Cradle

    Hazard: The wire supports on the sides of the bassinet can disconnect causing the fabric sides to lower; posing a risk that infants can fall out or become entrapped and suffocate.

    Remedy: Repair

    Consumer Contact: Dream on Me toll-free at (877) 201-4317, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or online at www.dreamonme.com and click on the “Recalls” icon on the home page for more information.

     Recall Details

    Units: About 13,000

    Description: This recall involves the 2-in-1 Bassinet to Cradle, sold in pink, blue, green, and white. The bassinet has metal frame supports and fabric sides with a removable half-canopy on the top.  The frame can also be adjusted with two rocking legs on each end of the bassinet. It is designed with fabric handles and the option to remove the bassinet from the frame to use the bassinet portion as a “by the bed” sleeper product. The recalled model numbers are 439-A, 439-B, 439-G, 439-P and 439-W and can be found on a tag which is located under the mattress pad of the bassinet. This tag is a removable tag you see in the store but is removed prior to use.

    Incidents/Injuries: Dream on Me has received one incident of the wire frame support bracket failing and the fabric portion of the bassinet collapsing while an infant was asleep in the cradle.  No injuries have been reported.  

    Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the product and contact Dream On Me to obtain a free repair. In the meantime, parents are urged to find an alternate, safe sleeping environment for the child, such as a crib that meets current safety standards or play yard depending on the child’s age.

    Sold at: Online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Wayfair.com, ToysRUs.com and Kohls.com from May 2012 to October 2014 for about $60.

    Manufacturer: Shanghaid Daafu Baby, of China.

    Importer: Dream on Me Inc., of South Plainfield, N.J.

    Manufactured in: China

  • Winter Cold Weather Safety Tips

    Our local chapter of the SafeKids Coalition sent these tips yesterday, and I want to post them for our readers who are parents, family members and caregivers of young children. Thanks to Wanda Willis of the Harrisonburg Fire Department for forwarding these to me. And I am hoping everyone who follows our blog has a happy, healthy and safe Valentine’s Day!
    Marianne Halterman

    Winter Cold Weather Safety Tips
    February 14, 2015

    Here are a few tips to keep your families safe during the bitter cold this weekend:

    1. During a power outage avoid using candles for emergency lighting. Use flashlights and battery-powered lamps when possible.
    2. If you must use a kerosene heater be sure the heater has an emergency shut off in case of tip overs.
    3. Keep young children away from any space heaters.
    4. Do not use flammable liquids to start or accelerate a fire in a woodstove or fireplace.
    5. Keep a metal or glass screen in front of the fireplace opening at all times.
    6. Have a CO Alarm when there are any appliances in your home that produce a flame.
    7. Never use a range or an oven as a supplemental heating device.
    8. Every level of your home must have a working smoke alarm.
    9. Practice a fire drill with your children and all members of your household.
    10. Keep a car disaster kit in your car in case you are stranded or caught in traffic for an extended period of time.

    The Central Shenandoah Valley SafeKids Coalition is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Central-Shenandoah-Valley-Safe-Kids-Coalition/103390966384968. Like their page and follow them for other safety tips throughout the year!

  • System Sensor Recalls Combination Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors Due to Carbon Monoxide Hazard

    Recall Date: February 11, 2015

    Recall Number: 15-077

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: i4 Series System Sensor combination carbon monoxide (CO)/smoke detectors

    Hazard: The detectors can fail to detect carbon monoxide gas in the home, posing a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

    Remedy: Replace

    Consumer Contact: System Sensor at (800) 736-7672 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or online at www.systemsensor.com, and click on “Product Safety Notice” for more information.

    Recall Details

    Units: About 1,450

    Description: This recall involves System Sensor i4 series combination carbon monoxide/smoke detector models COSMO-2W and COSMO-4W manufactured between 9/3/14 and 9/13/14. The detectors are round, white, and measure about 5.5 inches in diameter. Recalled units have date codes 4091 or 4092 printed on the lower left-hand corner of the label affixed to the back of the product and on the packaging.

    Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

    Remedy: Consumers should immediately contact System Sensor to obtain a free replacement combination CO/smoke detector. Consumers should keep using the recalled detectors until replacement detectors are installed.

    Sold at: Security equipment dealers nationwide during September 2014 for about $75.

    Manufacturer: System Sensor, of St. Charles, Ill.

    Manufactured in: Mexico

  • Mima Recalls Moon 3-In-1 High Chairs Due to Fall and Impact Hazard

    Recall Date: February 5, 2015

    Recall Number: 15-075

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: Mima Moon 3-in-1 High Chairs

    Hazard: The high chair seat can loosen and dislodge, allowing the seat and child to fall. The chair can also fall onto a child crawling underneath the seat, posing an impact hazard to the child.

    Remedy: Repair, Refund

    Consumers should stop using the high chair immediately and contact Mima to receive a free replacement upper chair section or instructions on receiving a refund.

    Consumer Contact: Mima at (800) 392-1206 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or online at www.mimakidsusa.com and click on “Moon Recall Information” for more information.

    Recall Details

    Units: About 1470

    Description: This recall includes Moon model 3-in-1 high chairs which adjust to a newborn, high and junior chair with a unique design consisting of a base with two feet supporting a single post that holds up the seat in a clear shell. The shell has a white inner seat with a removable seat pad in white, camel or black. The high chair measures about 3 feet tall when in its highest position. There is a “Mima” logo where the metal post attaches to the base to the seat. There is also a “Moon” logo on the inside of the feet that form the base of the high chair. The serial and model numbers are located on a sticker on the inside of one of the two feet that form the base of the high chair. For a list of serial numbers included in this recall, click here: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2015/Mima-Recalls-Moon-3-In-1-High-Chairs

    Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 14 reports of the high chair seat loosening. No injuries have been reported.

    Sold at: The majority of the high chairs were given away at the May 9, 2014 taping of the Ellen DeGeneres television show. The remaining chairs were sold at children’s juvenile product stores in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, Texas and Virginia from February 2014 through September 2014 for about $500.

    Importer: Muak Baby LLC, of Redondo Beach, Calif.

    Manufacturer: Sparklegate Industries, of Dongguan, Guangdong, China, through a contract manufacturing relationship with Mima International Limited, of Hong Kong.

    Manufactured in: China

  • Airplane and Butterfly Push Toys Recalled by LS Import Due to Choking Hazard

    Recall Number: 15-074

    Airplane and Butterfly Push Toys Recalled by LS Import Due to Choking Hazard

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: Airplane and butterfly push toys

    Hazard: The wheels of the airplane and the balls at the tip of the butterfly’s antenna can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

    Remedy: Refund

    Consumer Contact: LS Import Inc. collect at (713) 780-3900 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday for more information.

    Recall Details

    Units: About 660

    Description: This recall involves plastic airplane and butterfly push toys. The airplane push toy is red and has a blue, yellow and red rotor above the cockpit’s canopy and eyelids on the nose of the airplane that open and shut when the toy is been pushed on the floor. The airplane push toy has a pink plastic rod with a handle that connects to the back of the toy to push it. The butterfly push toy’s body is yellow with pink wings and has a pink plastic ball at the end of each of two antennas and a pair of wings that flap up and down when the toy is been pushed on the floor. The butterfly push toy has a green plastic rod with a handle that connects to the back of the toy to push it.

    Incidents/Injuries: None reported

    Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled toys away from children and contact LS Import for a full refund.

    Sold at: LS Import stores in Houston, Texas from May 2014 through July 2014 for between $1 and $2.

    Importer: LS Import, of Houston, Texas

    Manufactured in: China

  • The Smoke Around E-Cigarettes

    I didn’t know much about e-cigarettes until I began researching an article for this blog. The more I read, the more I realize many people out there are using e-cigarettes who don’t know much about them either! And the research isn’t what one would call available in abundance. “Electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) –also known as vaporizers, digital, electronic or e-cigarettes–do not produce a combustible ‘smoke’ like traditionally burned cigarettes, nor do they contain tar, a by-product of burning tobacco” according to a National Conference of State Legislatures January 11, Press release, entitled “Alternative Nicotine Products: Electronic Cigarettes”.

    All e-cigarettes work basically the same way, says Web MD’s fact sheet. The fact sheet described their construction as containing a battery, a heating element and a cartridge that holds nicotine and other liquids, including flavorings which are mostly chemicals. So, what is the person who uses an e-cigarette to gain from this product? Vapors from nicotine and chemical flavorings…although less nicotine than is in an average cigarette, along with the effects of chemicals/flavorings. Perhaps therein lies the rub?

    More than 25 years ago, a spokesperson for Philip Morris tobacco company asserted the teenager of today would be tomorrow’s potential regular customer. While the industry then-spokespersons agreed the industry didn’t approve of teenagers smoking, tobacco industry marketing efforts belied the industry wanted to grow regular smoking customers of the adult variety. So it goes with e-cigarettes.

    E-cigarette “vaping” is on the rise among teenagers, companies who sell E-cigarettes are advertising and making the product attractive to kids… and legislators are trying to do what they can to ban e-cigarettes being sold to minors.

    There can be deleterious effects from e-cigarettes, and the proof is in the number of calls to poison control centers. The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ data compiled from the Association of Poison Control Centers points to the number of calls to poison control centers involving exposure to e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine increased from 1,543 in 2013, to 3,957 in 2014. (Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Anthony Green, Director, Public Policy in a letter to SafeKids Coalition Leaders.) In addition, a recent New York Times article, “No Smoke, But Haze Around the E-Joint” notes that people are also using the e-cigarette system to consume marijuana (also called a “JuJu Joint”) which many feel is a gateway drug for teens. (“No Smoke, But Haze Around the E-Joint”, Peikoff, Kira, January 12, 2015, The New York Times, New York.)

    I am pleased that last April 2014, Virginia joined a host of other states which have banned the sale of alternative nicotine products to minors. Virginia retailers had until July 1 to begin following the law that unanimously passed the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate. As of January 11, 2015, 41 states have jumped on the bandwagon banning the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors. I support The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids’ efforts … and until we hear something good about e-cigarettes, hope you will do the same!

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  • Good News on the Horizon

    February 3, 2015–It’s good to see companies doing healthier things for consumers, especially where children are concerned. After all, kids are our future! The national fast-food chain, Wendy’s, announced in January 2015, it would remove soda from its “kids’ menus” in response to requests from organizations such as Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) and MomsRising.org. This means that menus which include children’s food choices will not even mention the word “soda.” However, those who wish can still order soda for their children, according to Food Safety News, January 16, 2013. Wendy’s is not alone in their effort to help reduce children’s consumption of sugary drinks and prevent childhood obesity. Companies, such as Arby’s, Chipotle, Subway, and Panera, are also on the bandwagon.

    Food Safety News also notes that the American Heart Association (AHA) discourages the consumption by children of more than three to four teaspoons of sugar a day and points out that a 12-ounce can of soda contains more than 10 teaspoons of sugar… while a 2-liter bottle of soda can contain as much as 27 teaspoons of sugar! Definitely food for thought!

    CVS’ Larry Merlo announced in February 2014 that the CVS Caremark would no longer sell cigarettes from its stores. This, in an effort to reduce the number of smoking-related diseases in the U.S. population. Smoking kills more than 480,000 Americans each year and contributes to lung cancer, heart disease and many other ailments. Not selling cigarettes may represent an estimated $2 billion loss in cigarette-related sales to the corporation–but Merlo says CVS is evolving into more of a healthcare company, and selling cigarettes simply represented a philosophical contradiction. (For more on this, please visit: www.cbsnews.com/news/cvs-ceo-larry-merlo-on-plan-to-stop-selling-tobacco-products/ )

    BeChildSafe.org wishes other companies would take a courageous look at their missions and goals in the interest of better fitting their products to their consumers’ health and safety, especially where children are concerned. Bravo, Wendy’s! Bravo, CVS!

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  • Performance Packaging Recalls Children’s Food Pouch Attachment Due to Choking Hazard

    Recall Date: February 3, 2015

    Recall Number: 15-068

    Recall Summary

    Name of Product: The PouchPop™ Topper

    Hazard: The tube of the pouch topper that screws onto the food pouch can separate from the round base, posing a choking hazard to young children.

    Remedy: Replace, Refund

    Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled PouchPop toppers and contact Performance Packaging for instructions on receiving a free replacement product or full refund.

    Consumer Contact: Performance Packaging toll-free at (844) 560-7227 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PT Monday through Friday or go to www.pouchpop.com and click on “PouchPop Product Recall” for more information.

    Recall Details

    Units: About 6,000

    Description: The recalled PouchPops are silicone toppers that screw onto a baby food pouch that allow infants to feed themselves. The PouchPops were sold in a four-pack of four colors including green, orange, red and yellow and have a cylinder-shaped tube stem that attaches to a round base. The pouch toppers have a “SipP” logo and smiley face embossed on the circular base.

    Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received four reports of breaks above the round base of the toppers. No injuries have been reported.

    Sold exclusively: Online at www.Amazon.com, www.littlegreenpouch.com and www.jackbenatural.com from May through September 2014 for about $10.

    Manufacturer: Performance Packaging, of Las Vegas, Nevada

    Manufactured in: United States