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CHINA-MADE CRIBS RECALL IN US |
China-made cribs recalled in US
after two infant deaths
24 September, 2007
The United States has announced a
recall of 1 million cribs made in
China after at least two babies became
trapped and died in those cribs and
over 60 other incidents were reported.
The recall of the cribs, made by
Simplicity Incorporated, was the
latest to hit Chinese-made consumer
products, after the large-scale
recalls of millions of Mattel toys
found to contain lead paint or
dangerous parts.
Two models of the cribs in question
that were being sold for between $100
and $300 were recalled.
The United States Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC) said it was
recalling older-style Simplicity cots
because the drop-side could became
detached, creating a gap which could
either trap or suffocate a child.
Two babies – one 9 months old and the
other 6 months old – died allegedly
after the drop-side of their cots were
installed upside down and collapsed,
the Consumer Product Safety Commission
said in a statement.
The CPSC was also investigating the
death of a one-year-old baby in
another Simplicity crib in which the
drop-side was installed upside down.
It has warned parents and caregivers
to check all Simplicity cribs to make
sure the drop-side is installed right
side up.
According to the CPSC, drop-side
failures result from both the hardware
and crib design, which allow consumers
to install unintentionally the
drop-side upside down. This, in turn,
can weaken the hardware and cause the
drop-side to detach from the crib.
When the drop-side detaches, it
creates a gap in which infants can
become entrapped.
The CPSC said it was aware of seven
cases where babies had become trapped
in their cribs and 55 other incidents.
It was also investigating two cases
which occurred even though the cot had
been correctly put together.
The cribs were sold in department
stores, children’s stores, and mass
merchandisers across the United States
from January 1998 through May 2007.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission
urged consumers to check to see if
their crib contains the recalled
hardware. The recalled hardware has a
flexible tab at the bottom of the
lower tracks, and the top of the lower
tracks is open.
More recent hardware, which is not
subject to the recall, has the
flexible tab located at the top of the
lower track, and a permanent stop at
the bottom.
Ken Waldman, president of the
Pennsylvania-based Simplicity
Incorporated, said, "Simplicity
strives to make safe products; that is
our number one priority. That’s why we
worked with the CPSC to take this
action.”
The recall of the cribs is bound to
rattle consumers in the United States
again about the safety of Chinese
products after a series of scares
involving popular toys such as Thomas
the Tank Engine, Barbies, and Polly
Pockets in recent months.
Meanwhile, US toy giant Mattel issued
an unexpected apology to China, saying
that the vast majority of the recent
recalls of Chinese-made products were
due to design flaws it had committed
itself.
Thomas Debrowski, Mattel’s executive
vice-president of worldwide
operations, explained, “It is very
important for everyone to understand
that the vast majority of those
products recalled were the result of a
design flaw in Mattel, not through the
manufacturing flaw in China’s
manufacturers.”
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