U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Recall Analysis

A total of 73 consumer product recall notices were issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from January 1st to March 31st, 2022. Notably, 16 recalls from Health Canada were done jointly with the CPSC.

Sports & Recreation accounted for 12 recall notices and All-terrain vehicles accounted for 10 recalls, mainly for injury, crashes, and/or falls. Appliances accounted for 8 notices, spanning various hazard categories such as choking, electric shock, impact injury, tip-over, and gas leak.

Toys accounted for 6 recall notices, with the majority pertaining to ingestion and/or choking. Furniture accounted for 4 recall notices, issued for various hazards such as drowning, tip-over, entrapment, injury, crash, or fall. There were 7 notices for children’s sleepwear for fire and/or burn. There were 3 recall notices for elevators pertaining to entrapment.

Highlighted below are some of the recalls relevant to Hardlines and Softlines products:

Q1 2022 – CPSC

Product

Reason(s)

Children’s Sleepwear

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

Children’s Apparel

The bells attached to the socks can detach, posing aspiration and choking hazards to young children.

Adult Apparel

  • Scarves fail to meet flammability standards, posing a risk of fire and burn.
  • Paint on zipper pull contains excessive levels of lead which can be toxic and can lead to health problems in young children if ingested.

Children’s Product

The below can cause choking hazards:

  • Wheel attachment hardware can detach from the walker in small pieces.
  • Base of the nipple has a slit that can cause the nipple to detach from plastic shield.

Toys

The below can pose ingestion and/or choking hazards to young children:

  • High-powered magnets can get swallowed and get lodged in the digestive system.
  • Pom-poms detaching from plush toys
  • Strings that connect beads on teethers can come untied
  • Handle from steel cup can come detached.

Furniture

  • Collapsing of loungers poses an injury hazard.
  • Connection from the seat-to-seat post can break causing a fall hazard.
  • Unstable dresser poses tip-over as well as entrapment hazards to children.
  • Hinge closers on gate can malfunction and lead to unintended access to pools.

 

Health Canada Recalls Analysis

Health Canada reported a total of 42 consumer product recall notices issued in Q1 (January – March) 2022.

An analysis of the product categories shows 6 recalls in the category of Sports & Recreation, for various hazards, such as drowning, fire or burn, fall, and/or injury. The category of Children’s Sleepwear shows 5 recalls notices, all pertaining to fire or burn hazard. Children’s Clothing also had 5 notices, four of which were for strangulation and one for choking. Toys had 4 recall notices, predominantly for choking hazards. Notices served for the category of Appliances were for electric shock, ingestion, fall, and/or injury.

Based on hazard categorization, there were 11 recall notices for fire or burn, and 7 recall notices each for fall and/or injury as well as choking. There were 4 notices for strangulation.

Highlighted below are some of the significant product categories:

Q1 2022 – Health Canada

Product

Reason(s)

Children’s sleepwear

Loose-fitting children’s sleepwear can contact ignition sources such as stove elements, candles, and matches more readily than tight-fitting sleepwear, and once ignited will burn rapidly, potentially resulting in severe burns to large areas of the child’s body.

Children’s Product

The following pose the risk of choking hazards:

  • The base of the silicone nipple has a fine slit that can cause the nipple to detach from the shield in a pacifier.
  • Nut securing the wheel of toddler walker can loosen, causing the release of small parts and choking hazard.
  • Removable tip of cap on drinking bottles may come loose if pulled.

Children’s Clothing

  • Drawstrings on children’s upper outerwear can become caught on playground equipment, fences, or other objects and result in strangulation, or in the case of a vehicle, the child being dragged.
  • Bells on socks may detach, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Toys

The below can pose ingestion and/or choking hazards to young children:

  • Strings that connect beads on teethers can come untied
  • Handle from toy steel cup can come detached.
  • Legs can break away from body of glow rattle.

 

 

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com, +1 224-318-0220), Matthew Nudell (matthew.nudell@intertek.com, +1-716-225-9006), or Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia (pratik.ichhaporia@intertek.com, +1 847 212 8273).

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