North Carolina Product Liability Blog : North Carolina Product Liability Lawyer & Attorney : D. Hardison Wood : Toy Safety, Child Restraint, Car Seats

It was revealed yesterday that emails indicated the owner of Peanut Corp,, the company at the center of the salmonella outbreak involving peanuts, urged the sale of tainted paenut product because he was worried about losing money.

The owner of a peanut company urged his workers to ship tainted products after receiving test results identifying salmonella, imploring employees to "turn the raw peanuts on our floor into money," according to internal company e-mails disclosed Wednesday by a House committee.

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The CPSC issued a recall announcement February 4, 2009 involving approximately 100,000 Safety 1st SmartLight Stair Gates. Apparently the hinges which are to hold the stair gate in place can break which poses a serious fall hazard for children if the gate is at the top of the stairs.

Description: The recall involves the Safety 1st SmartLight Stair Gate with model number 42111, which is printed on a sticker under the handle panel. The gates, which were manufactured before December 31, 2007, are white metal with a gray handle and a motion sensor nightlight that illuminates on approach. The manufacture date is located below the gate's handle as a date wheel imprinted in the plastic; an arrow indicates the month, and the year is stamped inside the circle. The manufacture date is also printed on a sticker inside the battery door.

Sold at: Mass merchandise and juvenile product stores nationwide, including Babies R Us and Wal-Mart, from January 2005 through December 2007 for about $60.

For the entire notice visit the CPSC website.

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The fall out from the peanut and peanut product recalls seems to keep growing each day. Apparently there has been a link found between the Georgia company involved with the nationwide salmonella outbreak and schools in three states.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Agriculture Department shipped possibly contaminated peanut butter and other foods to schools in at least three states under a contract with the Georgia company blamed for a nationwide salmonella outbreak.

The government abruptly suspended all business with the company Thursday, as officials defended their efforts to halt the outbreak that has sickened at least 575 people in 43 states. At least eight have died. It's become one of the largest food recalls ever, including more than 1,300 products.

The potentially contaminated products went to school free lunch programs in California, Minnesota and Idaho in 2007, the Department of Agriculture said Friday. Peanut butter and roasted peanuts processed by the Peanut Corp. of America were sent to the schools.

 

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Beginning February 10, 2009, children's products cannot be sold if they contain more than 600 parts per million (ppm) lead even if they were manufactured before this date. The total lead limit will drop again August 14, 2009 to 300 ppm.

The new law requires that domestic manufacturers and importers certify that children’s products made after February 10 meet all the new safety standards and the lead ban. Sellers of used children’s products, such as thrift stores and consignment stores, are not required to certify that those products meet the new lead limits, phthalates standard or new toy standards.

The new safety law does not require resellers to test children’s products in inventory for compliance with the lead limit before they are sold. However, resellers cannot sell children’s products that exceed the lead limit and therefore should avoid products that are likely to have lead content, unless they have testing or other information to indicate the products being sold have less than the new limit. Those resellers that do sell products in violation of the new limits could face civil and/or criminal penalties. For additional information visit www.cpsc.gov

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