Archive for February, 2010

Tiny Love, Brittax and Manhattan Group LLC Post Recalls February 18th, 2010

Click the recall below to see the full story:

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Tiny Love Recalls Wind Chime Toys Due to Puncture and Laceration Hazards

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

  • Name of Product: Wind Chime Toys
  • Units: About 600,000 in the United States and 200,000 in Canada
  • Distributor: Tiny Love Inc., of New York, N.Y. and the Maya Group Inc., of Huntington Beach, Calif.
  • Hazard: The wind chime toy can be pulled apart exposing sharp metal rods, posing puncture and laceration hazards to the baby.
  • Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received five reports of babies pulling apart the wind chimes exposing the sharp metal rods, including a report of a minor injury to a 24-month-old baby who punctured his cheek with the rods.
  • Description: This recall involves wind chime toys sold separately, with the Gymini Kick & Play Activity Gym and Tiny Smarts Gift Sets. The toy produces the sound of a wind chime. “Tiny Love” is printed on a tag on the toy. The following names and item numbers are included in this recall:
    Name / Item Number
    Baby Wind Chime / # 493
    Baby Wind Chime – Ocean / # 593
    Tiny Smarts – Baby Bunny / # 512
    Wind Chime – Duck (*The Wind Chime – Duck is sold with the Gymini Kick and Play Activity Gym. Only the Wind Chime is affected by this Recall.) / # 811
    Wind Chime – Louie / # 516
    Wind Chime – Ella / # 517
    Tiny Smarts Gift Set (*Bunny Wind Chime is the only product affected by this Recall.) / # 539
    Wind chimes sold with other Tiny Love Activity Gyms are not included in this recall.
  • Sold at: Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, Buy Buy Baby and TJ Maxx stores nationwide from February 2002 through February 2010 for about $8 separately, $22 for the Tiny Smarts Gift Sets and $70 with the Gymini Kick & Play Activity Gym.
  • Manufactured in: China
  • Remedy: Consumers should immediately take the recalled wind chimes from babies and contact Tiny Love to receive a free replacement toy.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Tiny Love toll-free at (888) 791-8166 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.tinylove.com.

Note: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=974

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10136.html

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Britax Recalls Strollers Due to Risk of Fingertip Amputations and Lacerations

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

  • Name of Product: Britax “Blink” Umbrella Strollers
  • Units: About 14,000 in the United States and 900 in Canada
  • Importer: Britax Child Safety, Inc., of Charlotte, N.C.
  • Hazard: The stroller’s hinge mechanism poses a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is unfolding/opening the stroller.
  • Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
  • Description: This recall involves all Britax “Blink” single umbrella strollers. “Blink” is printed on the metal frame on both sides of the stroller, below the hand grips. The recalled “Blink” strollers have model numbers U261813, U261814, U261815, U261816, U261817, U271813, U271817 and U271815 and were manufactured between May 2009 and September 2009. The model number and manufacturing date can be found on a white label on the stroller frame, near the bottom of the stroller basket.
  • Sold at: Buy Buy Baby and other juvenile product and mass merchandise retailers nationwide in the U.S. and Canada and on the Web at www.Amazon.com, www.babiesrus.com, www.Target.com and www.Diapers.com from July 2009 through February 2010 for about $150.
  • Manufactured in: China
  • Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled strollers and contact Britax to receive free stroller hinge covers.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Britax toll-free at (888) 427-4829 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm’s website at www.BlinkRecall.com.

Note: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=971

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including a picture of the recalled product, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10137.html

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Pull Toys Recalled by Manhattan Group LLC Due to Choking and Aspiration Hazards

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Health Canada, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following products. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

  • Name of Product: Pull-A-Long Friends Toucan™, Pull-A-Long Friends Alligator™, and Pull-A-Long Friends Sharky™
  • Units: About 2,400 in the United States and 400 in Canada
  • Manufacturer: Manhattan Group LLC, of Minneapolis, Minn.
  • Hazard: The toy has wooden components that can break or come loose, posing a choking/aspiration hazard to young children.
  • Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
  • Description: This recall involves three types of pull-toys: Pull-A-Long Friends Toucan™ with lot code 210720GB, Pull-A-Long Friends Alligator™ with lot code 210750GB, and Pull-A-Long Friends Sharky™ with lot code 210530GB. The Toucan has a large yellow and black beak and blue striped wings. The crocodile is green and has a red ridge on its back and red wheels with yellow polka dots. The shark has blue swirls painted on its wheels and an orange wooden fish on the pull string. The lot code is printed on the bottom of the toy.
  • Sold at: Gift and specialty stores nationwide, online and through catalogs from September 2009 through January 2010 for about $22.
  • Manufactured in: Thailand
  • Remedy: Consumers should take the toys away from young children immediately and return them to the store where purchased for a refund or a replacement toy.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Manhattan Group at (800) 541-1345 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday or visit the firm’s Web site at www.manhattantoy.com.

Note: Health Canada’s press release is available at http://cpsr-rspc.hc-sc.gc.ca/PR-RP/recall-retrait-eng.jsp?re_id=973

To see this recall on CPSC’s web site, including pictures of the recalled products, please go to: http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml10/10138.html

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SIDS Research Breakthrough! February 2nd, 2010

Dear Friends of First Candle,

It is with great pride and excitement that we share with you today news of a new study out of the SIDS Center of Excellence at Children’s Hospital Boston, led by Harvard researcher Dr. Hannah Kinney, regarding another breakthrough in SIDS research!

The findings from the study indicate we are closing in on a defect in the brainstem related to serotonin as a likely cause for SIDS. This recent study built on the research team’s 2006 study that identified potential problems with serotonin and serotonin receptor bindings in the brainstems of babies who die of SIDS. The results of the study are based on a comparison of brainstem samples from infants dying of SIDS to brainstems of infants dying from other, known causes. The findings will be published in the February 3 issue of The Journal of the American Medical Association.

The results are compelling and send a strong message to parents on the importance of good prenatal care and safe sleep in protecting babies from SIDS, the leading cause of death for babies one month to one year of age.

For those that would like further information, please refer to First Candle’s press release, the press release out of Harvard and the full text of the article.

  • There will be significant media coverage of the event beginning with the NBC nightly news at 6:30 this evening. View a schedule of additional media coverage
  • Our friends at Scripps Howard News Service have been instrumental in bringing the issue of sudden infant deaths in America to the forefront of infant mortality issues. Link to this article.

We would also like to recognize Dr. Henry Krous of the SIDS/SUDC research project at Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego. Critical to Dr. Kinney’s work is the availability of tissue samples. Dr. Krous’ is the only project currently collecting tissue samples for research purposes .

First Candle has been nationally recognized as key supporters of these projects throughout the past 20 years, and we would like to thank you, our many supporters, for the role you have played in this success; we couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you.

We would like to close with a call to action.
It is critical that we continue to move this research forward to find out what causes this defect, identify babies at risk and develop preventive treatments for the serotonin deficit.

  • Please consider making a donation to SIDS research through First Candle. We are happy to direct your dollars to either of these worthy projects.
  • We will keep you apprised of advocacy efforts and other ways you can help make SIDS a thing of the past.

Thank you in advance for your ongoing support of our efforts – in the belief that every baby should live.

Warm regards,

The board and staff of First Candle

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