2007 The Year of the Recall
The year 2007 will be remembered for many things. But one thing that stands out is the high number of recalls throughout the year. We could even deem 2007, “The Year of the Recall”. From toys to automobiles, pet foods to cribs, hundreds of consumer items – many of them from trusted names in consumer products like Mattel, Nissan, Fisher Price, Iams Pet Food, among others, were found unsafe and recalled.
We should all be concerned that we have to be so careful about what products we buy, and what foods we eat. Keep in mind that it’s not only the consumer product companies, and the manufacturers that are to blame, but the regulatory agencies that are supposed to protect us. (Read more on that further in the article.)
To list every product recalled would take many pages, but we will highlight some of the major recalls here, and give you websites to view the various recall lists.
In the automotive market, nearly every manufacturer had at least one model that was recalled in ’07. Here is a random sampling – we recommend you view the full list which also allows you to look up the details of each recall.
2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Liberty
2007 Toyota Tacoma, FJ Cruiser, and Camry
2007 Ford Explorer, Focus
For all the Auto recalls of 2007, visit: www.internetautoguide.com/auto-recalls
Pet food recalls included dozens of brands, but note that the majority came from one manufacturer, Menu Foods of Ontario, which makes nearly 100 kinds/brands of cat and dog foods for several brands, primarily the wet/sliced/gravy varieties. A sampling of recalled pet foods includes:
Alpo Prime Cuts on Gravy
Natural Balance dry and canned dog food and cat food
Diamond Pet Foods
Del Monte pet treats and snacks
The American Veterinary Medical Association maintains a list of all recalled pet foods. Website iswww.avma.org, and from the home page, click on ‘pet food safety’.
The recalls that made big headlines and got the most press were toy recalls – clearly because innocent children are at risk. The fact is, a goal of manufacturing an item at the lowest possible cost (to make the biggest profit) means that quality – and thus safety – of the item will suffer. Mattel was the largest manufacturer affected by unsafe toys made in China – most of the recalls were due to lead paint. As of October 2007, nearly 25 million Mattel and Fisher Price (Fisher Price is owned by Mattel) toys had been recalled. Over 700 factories in China that manufacture toys for distribution to other countries have had their licenses either revoked or suspended due to the recent recall.
The US Consumer Product and Safety Commission website maintains a list of both Toy recalls and other Child Products. Visit www.cpsc.gov. Note the ‘Especially for Kids’ link on left side of Home Page that is a site for children to learn about product safety and safe habits.
Here is a sample of some children’s products on the ’07 recall list:
Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat
Spin Master Aqua Dots
Bumbo Baby Sitter Seats
Sponge Bob Address Books and Journals
Sesame Street Elmo Stacking Rings
Batman various action figures by Mattel
A good website for general consumer information, product alerts and courses of action, and recall notices is www.consumersunion.org. It is from this site that we gleaned this list of alarming recalls from June through October 2007.
June 2007:
Product Recalls:
• RC2 Corp. recalls 1.5 million Thomas & Friends Wooden Railway toys because surface paints on the products contain lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.
• Lasko Products Inc. recalls approximately 1.2 million Lasko Ceramic Heaters because of a potential fire hazard due to the heater cord overheating.
Food Recalls:
• United Food Group recalls 5.7 million pounds of ground beef due to the presence of E. coli.
• Robert’s American Gourmet Food, Inc. recalls over 1 million packages of Veggie Booty due to Salmonella contamination.
• Tyson Fresh Meats recalls over 40,000 pounds of ground beef due to the presence of E. coli.
July 2007:
Product Recalls:
• One million Easy-Bake Ovens are recalled because young children can insert their hands into the oven's front opening and get their hands or fingers caught, posing entrapment and burn hazards.
• 20,000 Essentials for Kids Jewelry Sets are recalled because the metal jewelry sets contain high levels of lead.
Food Recalls:
• Phoenix Trading, Inc. recalls over 1.5 million units of toothpaste because they contain Diethylene glycol (DEG), a chemical primarily used in floor polish, paint and industrial cleaners.
• Gerber Products Co. recalls over 3.1 million boxes of Gerber organic baby cereal because of choking hazards.
• Dent Fresh USA, Inc. recalls 126,000 tubes of toothpaste imported from China because they contain DEG.
• Castleberry’s Food Company recalls over 721,000 pounds of canned meat due to the presence of Clostridium botulinum, a bacteria that can cause botulism.
• Abbott’s Meat, Inc. recalls over 26,000 pounds of ground beef due to the presence of E. coli.
• World Spice, Inc. recalls over 16,000 pounds of parsley powder due to Salmonella contamination.
August 2007:
Product Recalls:
• Mattel recalls more than 7 million Polly Pockets Play Sets because magnets inside the dolls and accessories can come loose, posing risk of injury or even death to children who swallow or inhale the small magnets.
• Approximately 250,000 SpongeBob SquarePants Address Books and Journals are recalled because the paint on the metal spiral bindings of the address books and journals contain excessive levels of lead, which violates the federal lead paint ban.
Food Recalls:
• Gilchrist & Soames recalls over 658,000 tubes of toothpaste imported from China because they contain DEG.
• Kedem Food Products recalls over 113,000 units of apple juice because they contain Clostridium butyricum, a bacteria that can cause botulism.
• Talking Rain Beverage Co. recalls over 136,000 bottles of spring water because they contain Bromate.
September 2007:
Product Recalls:
• Simplicity Inc. recalls 1 million cribs made in China due to design and construction defects that pose a strangulation hazard to babies. The cribs are believed to be responsible for the deaths of two infants.
• Mattel recalls 675,000 Barbie Accessory toys due to excessive lead levels in paint.
• 200,000 additional Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway toys are recalled for excessive lead levels in paint.
• Target recalls 350,000 Happy Giddy Gardening Tools and Children’s Sunny Patch Chairs because of excessive lead levels in paint.
• 425,000 infant play yards are recalled by Kolcraft Enterprises Inc. because they pose a strangulation hazard.
Food Recalls:
• Stone Meats, Inc. recalls over 11,000 pounds of ground beef because the products contain pieces of metal.
October 2007:
Product Recalls:
• Approximately 1.6 million Cub Scouts Totem Badges are recalled by Kahoot Products, Inc. for excessive lead levels.
• 110,000 Magnetic Game Pieces sold with “Cars”-themed backpacks are recalled because the small magnets in the toy present a hazard to children.
• 142,000 Purple Halloween Pails with Witch Decorations are recalled by Family Dollar Stores because of excessive lead levels in the paint.
• 1 million Bumbo “Baby Sitter” Seats by Bumbo International of South Africa are recalled because they pose a head injury hazard to children.
Food Recalls:
• Topps Meat Company recalls over 21 million pounds of ground beef due to the presence of E. coli.
• Cargill Meat Solutions recalls 845,000 pounds of ground beef due to the presence of E. coli.
• ConAgra Foods recalls an “undetermined amount” of frozen pot pies due to Salmonella contamination.
• J & B Meats Corporation recalls over 173,000 pounds of ground due to the presence of E. coli.
As mentioned previously in the article, aside from blaming the manufacturers, we need to note that the regulatory capacity of the federal agencies that are supposed to ensure consumer safety has greatly decreased. Our current system for maintaining the safety of domestic and imported food and products is not effective – mostly because federal regulators have allowed the industry to police itself.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have failed at meeting the challenges of today’s global marketplace. In recent years, imports have skyrocketed, especially from China. From ’00 to ’06, the value of all imports increased by 67 percent. Consider that 80 percent of all toys sold in America today are imported from China. Thirteen percent of our food supply is imported, as is 83 percent of our seafood.
The CPSC has half the number of employees it had about 30 years ago. Here is an alarming fact: Only 15 inspectors police the millions of toys and products coming into the country at hundreds of entry points! The FDA is also ineffective, inspecting less than one percent of all food imports that enter our country. Until these agencies are better run and better staffed, the recalls will continue.
Consumers must urge Congress to make 2008 the year of consumer safety reform. Consumers must complain, loudly, and voice to their congressmen that they want these broken agencies to be fixed, and that only when our government does a better job of protecting our food and products will our confidence in the marketplace be restored.
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