Consumer Reports Will No Longer Recommend Liquid Laundry Detergent Pods
July 16, 2015, consumerreports.org
Citing continued danger to young children, CR calls for tougher safety standards and urges households where children younger than 6 are ever present to refrain from purchasing them. A draft proposal for a new voluntary standard calls for several key changes that have already been implemented in Europe.
Pending TSCA Reform Legislation, States Continue to Take Action on Chemicals
July 9, 2015, Arnold & Porter Advisories
The state legislation continues to fuel the desire for strong TSCA reform legislation that might meaningfully preempt such state actions. 2015 activity includes new laws in Minnesota, Colorado, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, and Wisconsin, with bills pending in Oregon and California.
State’s Top Court Rules Whistleblower Law Extends to Watchdog Employees
July 16, 2015, njspotlight.com
In a unanimous decision the New Jersey Supreme Court widened the state’s whistleblower law, ruling that employees whose jobs entail identifying health and safety risks are entitled to protection under the statute.
Air Bag Malfunction Probe Widens to Kentucky Company
July 15, 2015, The Associated Press
The problem of exploding air bags could be widening beyond Japanese manufacturer Takata Corp. U.S. safety regulators are investigating inflators made by ARC Automotive Inc. that went into about 420,000 older Fiat Chrysler Town and Country minivans and 70,000 Kia Optima midsize sedans.
How ‘Made in China’ Became a Stigma
July 16, 2015, The Diplomat
RAPEX 2014 report shows that “the number of (EU) notifications by ‘country of origin’ list China in first place, 1,462, followed by Germany, 75, Turkey, 66, and the U.S., 60.” Still, the opinion writer notes that the appeal of the China label rests on “the ingenuity of Chinese manufacturers who can work directly from samples, providing greater expediency.”
Philippines: Steps Enhancing Consumer Rights Continue
July 9, 2015, SunStar.com
New proposals seen as strengthening “Consumer Act of the Philippines.” Increased fines and power to shut down companies violating the Act, along with the requirement to “immediately issue a product recall to the buyers of a product the moment it is found to be defective.”
Number of Food Recalls per Year in the U.S. has Almost Doubled Since 2002, new Swiss Re Study Finds
July 15, 2015, CanadianUnderwriters.ca
Just over half of all food recalls cost the affected United States companies more than US$10 million, with losses of more than US$100 million possible, according to the study. Food Safety in a Globalised World found that the number of recalls per year in the U.S. has almost doubled since 2002, with food contamination costing health authorities US$15.6 billion per year.
EUROPEN Welcomes EU’s Focus on Extended Responsibility
July 9, 2015, Recycling Today
Organization also cautions against wide scale replacement of food packaging with bio-based and biodegradable compostable material.
Ten Ways Big Data Is Revolutionizing Supply Chain Management
July 15, 2015, Forbes
Forward-thinking manufacturers are orchestrating 80% or more of their supplier network activity outside their four walls, using big data and cloud-based technologies to get beyond the constraints of legacy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Supply Chain Management (SCM) systems.
