Britax Refuses to recall jogging strollers so the feds have sued
February 20, 2018, wpri.com
The Commission authorized the issuance of the complaint after Britax declined to recall or fix the strollers that pose a substantial risk of injury to children and adults.
Britax announced that it declined the CPSC’s request to recall BOB jogging strollers in the US made before September 2015. 57 children and 40 adults have been injured in accidents associated with the products. So far, the CPSC said the company has refused to recall the strollers. Since 2012, they’ve received more than 200 complaints about the wheels coming off certain models of Britax jogging strollers.
Opinion: Trump is decimating the Consumer Product Safety Commission
February 23, 2018, The Hill
This month, President Trump resubmitted almost a hundred names of people he would like as agency heads. Former CPSC Chair Ann Brown offers: “Many of those agencies badly need direction. But of them all, only my old agency works day in day out to save our children. So I admit, when I saw the president’s nominee for CPSC Chair, Ann Marie Buerkle, tell a reporter the agency is, “not supposed to be emotional” I got pretty emotional myself.”
Acting Chairman of the CPSC Ann Marie Buerkle to Present The Keynote Session at the 2018 JPMA Baby Show
February 20, 2018, SF Gate
Ann Marie Buerkle, acting chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, will offer the keynote presentation at the second annual JPMA Baby Show, a JPMA and Family Media Event. It will take place on Thursday, March 22, 2018 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, immediately prior to trade show exhibit hours.
Resolution Urges OEHHA to Add Cancer-Causing Processed Meat to Prop 65
February 13, 2018, Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine
A resolution introduced in the California State Legislature by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), urges the Office of Environment Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to add processed meat—such as hot dogs, bacon, and deli meat—to California’s list of substances known to cause cancer, as required under Proposition 65. The bill is backed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and Social Compassion in Legislation. A 2015 World Health Organization report classified processed meat—including pepperoni, ham, and sausage made from pork, beef, or poultry—as a Group 1 carcinogen.
117 bills covering a range of consumer product chemical content in 24 states are under consideration
February, 2018, Safer States
An NGO has made it its mission to track hazardous chemicals at the state level. They say that ”states have made critical progress to: define hazardous chemicals of greatest concern to vulnerable populations, disclose the use of these chemicals in consumer products, ban the worst-of-the-worst; and move the marketplace and the nation towards safer alternatives.”
What’s New with China’s Chemical Import and Export Regulatory Programs
February 22, 2018, JDSupra (Beveridge & Diamond PC)
In 2017, China updated its new chemical registration program and toxic chemical import and export control program and introduced a new chemical program – chemical substances subject to prioritized control.[1] This alert provides an overview of China’s environmental and safety regulations on chemical products in light of these updates.
Industry officials weigh in on new product safety certification
February 26, EIN Newswire
A new professional certification for the consumer product safety field announced last week has drawn comments from product safety officials in various consumer product companies. The program will begin taking registrations on August 1, 2018 for the certification course and examination which will take place in 2019 at the Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business at Saint Louis University.
‘Natural’ label sells, but consumers, lawyers, government wrangle over what it means
February 17, 2018, Seattle Times
In recent years, one bright spot in an otherwise lackluster market for packaged foods, beverages and consumers products has been merchandise promoted as “natural.” Consumers, increasingly wary of products that are overly processed or full of manufactured chemicals, are paying premium prices for natural goods, from fruit juices and cereals to shampoos and baby wipes. But one person’s “natural” is another person’s methylisothiazolinone.
A seal of approval for IoT security?
February 17, 2018, gcn.com
To ensure internet-of-things devices meet basic security standards, Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) want a label – like the Energy Star seal – that would indicate to buyers that IoT devices meet certain cybersecurity requirements. The Cyber Shield Act of 2017, introduced October 2017, would create an advisory committee to set the cyber and data security standards products would have to meet to receive the seal.
Meet the team: The government’s Office for Product Safety and Standards
February 21, 2018, PR Week
The newly established UK Office for Product Safety and Standards is tasked with identifying consumer risks and responding accordingly, working closely with the British Standards Institution. Communications and PR are clearly high on the agenda for a body set up to respond with speed and precision to potentially dangerous product recalls.
