U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Recall Analysis
A total of 94 consumer products recall notices were issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) from January-March 2023. Notably, 25 recalls from Health Canada were done jointly with the CPSC.
Sports and Recreation accounted for 13 recall notices and All-terrain vehicles accounted for 7 recalls. Appliances accounted for 6 notices, spanning across various hazard categories such as fire and/or burn, electric shock. Toys accounted for 1 recall notice pertaining to choking. Furniture accounted for 7 recall notices, issued for various hazards such as injury, crash and/or fall, tipover and asphyxiation. There were 4 notices for children’s products for suffocation, injury, crash and/or fall, choking and chemical exposure. Further, there were 2 notices for childcare products that were issued on account of choking and chemical exposure. There were 4 recalls in the category of electrical/electronics, posing the risk of fire and/or burn and entrapment.
Notably, there were 3 recall notices issued for candles due to the risk of laceration as well as fire and/or burn. There was 1 recall notice issued for soft coolers and gear cases, due to the risk of ingestion of magnets.
Highlighted below are some of the recalls relevant to Softlines and Hardlines products:
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Q1 2023 – CPSC
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Product
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Reason(s)
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Children’s Clothing (including Sleepwear)
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- The zipper can detach from the sleepsack posing a choking hazard.
- The snaps on the bodysuit of the recalled base layer sets can detached, posing a choking hazard if mouthed by infants.
- The recalled sleepwear fails to meet flammability standards for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.
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Adult Clothing
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- An elastic drawstring hem near the ankle of the pants can create an extended loop, posing a trip and fall hazard.
- The drawcord on the hoodies has small plastic caps that can be swallowed by a nursing baby, posing a choking hazard.
- The recalled clothing fails to meet flammability standards for clothing textiles, posing a risk of burn injuries to consumers.
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Children’s Product
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- Infants can suffocate if they roll or move on the crib bumper in a position that obstructs breathing. Padded crib bumpers are banned under federal law.
- The recalled helmets do not comply with the positional stability and impact attenuation requirements of the CPSC federal safety standard for bicycle helmets. The helmets can fail to protect a child in the event of a crash, posing a risk of head injury.
- The raindrops on the cloud toy included with the activity gym can detach from the ribbon, posing a choking hazard if a child places it in their mouth.
- The swing seat restraint straps can break, posing a fall hazard to young children.
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Childcare Products
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- The recalled children’s bamboo plates have elevated levels of lead and formaldehyde. Both lead and formaldehyde are toxic if ingested by children and can cause adverse health effects.
- The bottle and pacifier accessories pose a choking hazard to children.
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Bedding
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- The recalled heated blankets can overheat/controller for heating blankets and pads can malfunction, posing fire and burn hazards
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Durable Nursery Product
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- The lower side of the stroller frame can crack, posing a fall risk to children in the stroller.
- Infant fatalities have occurred in the Rocking Sleepers, after the infants rolled from their back to their stomach or side while unrestrained, or under other circumstances.
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Candle
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- The product can combust while lit causing the glass container to break, posing fire and injury hazards.
- Some of the glass lids are too tight/the candle wicks burn too closely to the side of the container, causing the jar to break when the lid is forcibly removed, posing a laceration hazard.
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Health Canada Recalls Analysis
Health Canada reported a total of 49 consumer product recall notices issued in Q1 (January-March) 2023.
Toys had 3 recall notices, due to risk of choking. The category of Kitchen and Dining had 4 recalls, for posing risk of fire and/or burn, chemical exposure and microbial contamination and bacterial exposure. The category of children’s clothing had 1 recall notice issued for risk of choking and children’s sleepwear had one recall notice issued for the risk of fire and/or burn. The category of adult clothing had 1 recall notice issued due to microbial contamination and bacterial exposure.
Based on hazard categorization, there were 11 recall notices for fire or burn, 9 recall notices for fall and/or injury, 8 recall notices for choking, and 8 notices for choking, 1 recall notice for the risk of drowning and 3 recall notices due to microbial contamination and bacterial exposure.
Highlighted below are some recalls relevant to Hardlines and Softlines products:
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Q1 2023 – Health Canada
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Product
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Reason(s)
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Childcare Article
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- The teether is a pacifier and does not meet the Pacifier Regulations. Specifically, the guard or shield of the pacifier can block the airway of the user, posing a suffocation hazard to young babies and children.
- Health Canada's sampling and evaluation program has determined that when force is applied to the pacifier, small parts can break off, posing a choking hazard to infants and young children.
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Children’s Product
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- Children may put the component in their mouths which may pose a potential choking hazard.
- Front wheels of the activity gym can detach, creating a fall hazard.
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Children’s Clothing (including sleepwear)
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- The recalled children’s pajamas fail to meet the flammability requirements for children’s sleepwear, posing a risk of burn injuries to children.
- The snaps on the shirt can detach, posing a choking hazard.
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Art & Crafts
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- The recalled products do not meet the labelling requirements of the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations, 2001 under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. The lack of appropriate labelling information could result in unintentional exposure to the products and lead to serious illness or injury.
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For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com).