Articles Posted in Consumer Safety

Although the season for backyard barbeques and sunscreen has come to an end in the Great Northwest, you may want to consider throwing out any Banana Boat spray-on sunscreen products left over from the season.

The maker of Banana Boat sunscreen recalled 23 spray-on products saying there was a risk they could catch fire on one’s skin, after reports of five people being burned in the US and Canada. Energizer Holdings said it was recalling its popular continuous spray sunscreen “due to a potential risk of product igniting on the skin if contact is made with a source of ignition before the product is completely dry.”

It cited a likely problem with the size of the spray valve opening that allows more of the volatile product to be sprayed on the skin than usual. As a result, the product is taking longer to dry on the skin than is typical with other continuous sprays. If a consumer comes into contact with a flame or spark prior to complete drying of the product on the skin, there is a potential for the product to ignite.

Federal officials say Washington health facilities didn’t get the spinal injection products that have sickened and killed patients in other states, but state officials say some facilities do have other injectable products from the same company.

The products found in Washington hospitals and clinics are included in a second, expanded recall of injectable products made by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass, although they have not been linked to illness or death.

The original injectable steroid recalled, methylprednisolone acetate, was found to have been contaminated by fungus. Three lots of the steroid have been linked to more than 130 illnesses and 12 deaths in 11 states.

Four years after a previous salmonella outbreak tied to peanut butter, it’s happened again, despite stricter industry standards.

A recent recall of Trader Joe’s peanut butter has been expanded to more than 100 products sold nationally in many other supermarkets. The Food and Drug Administration announced that it found salmonella in a New Mexico plant that produces nut butters for national retailer Trader Joe’s and several other grocery chains. The Trader Joe’s peanut butter is now linked to 35 salmonella illnesses in 19 states, including two in Washington. Almost two-thirds of those sickened are children under the age of 10. No deaths have been reported.

Health officials began investigating the peanut butter after at least 12 of those sickened reported having eaten it. The FDA said Friday that Washington state health officials have confirmed the presence of salmonella in a jar of the Trader Joe’s peanut butter found in a victim’s home.

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2012 – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20030904/USCSCLOGO)

Name of product: Bicycles

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety recently introduced a new crash test which revealed disturbing safety deficiencies in many luxury cars. Most luxury-model cars tested failed the new crash test despite high overall safety ratings. Of 11 midsize luxury cars tested only two vehicles, the Acura TL and the Volvo S60, earned good ratings, while the Infiniti G was rated as acceptable

The new test mimics crashes in which the front driver-side corner of a car collides with another vehicle or an object such as a tree or utility pole. A 2009 institute study found these “small overlap frontal” collisions accounted for nearly 25 percent of frontal crashes that result in serious or fatal injury to occupants in the front seat. Another 24 percent of frontal crashes were “moderate overlap crashes, although they likely occurred at much higher speeds than the Institute’s moderate overlap test,” according to the report.

All of the models passed the institute’s standard moderate overlap frontal test in which the impact is spread out over a larger area of the vehicle’s front end.

Sysco Seattle Inc. is recalling 16,800 pounds of ground beef patties due to risk of contamination by E. coli bacteria. The meat originated in Canada, a product of New Food Classics of Burlington, Ontario, and may have been tainted by the potentially deadly bacteria E. coli 0157:H7. The patties were intended for distribution to restaurants in Washington, Arizona, Colorado and Texas. At least one illness has been reported in Canada from the tainted beef. Children, seniors and those with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.

Victims of E. coli infection resulting from tainted food may have claims against the food’s producers, distributers, and other entities involved.

For more information about this story see http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Beef-patties-recalled-due-to-possible-E-coli-3434061.php#ixzz1qFZ4m1s6