Use common sense, and if you’ve got any concern whatsoever, check out the product over at recalls.gov.  Never use any product that you’re not 100% sure is safe. 

You can search for product recalls in:

• consumer products
• food, medicine, cosmetics
• motor vehicles, car seats
• environmental products
• meat and poultry products
• boats and boating safety

Really interested in recalls?  Sign up for emails notifying you of future recalls from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Food & Drug Administration, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.   

Remember, time is not on your side in a defective products claim ….

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a defective product — do not wait to get legal advice.  The law has specific deadlines, and if you miss the deadline even the worthiest claim will be time-barred. 

Don’t procrastinate!

1.  Banquet Pot Pies – On Friday, ConAgra recalled all its Banquet pot pies because of Salmonella dangers.  Check your freezer not only for the Banquet brand but also the store brands Albertson’s, Food Lion, Great Value, Hill Country Fare, Kirkwood, Kroger, Meijer, and Western Family. You’re looking for single serving pot pies (7 oz.) with the numbers “P-9″ or “Est. 1059″ on the side.

2.  Topps Beef Patties.  The second-largest beef recall in US history occurred on September 26th when Topps Meat Company recalled an entire year’s production run after E-coli bacteria scares.  Its initial recall of around 300,000 pounds was expanded to 21.7 million pounds of beef, made into patties commonly sold at stores such as WalMart and Sam’s Club.  Check any 10-pound boxes of Butcher’s Best 100% All Beef Patties; 10-pound boxes of Kohler Foods burgers;  10-pound boxes of Sand Castle Fine Meat; s 2-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers; and 3-pound boxes of Topps 100% Pure Ground Beef Hamburgers for the number “Est. 9748″ inside the USDA mark of inspection and were produced on June 22, July 12 or July 23, and have a “sell by” date between Sept. 25, 2007 and Sept. 28, 2008.  Topps’ website has a list of the UPC codes for all the recalled beef products.  Note:  Topps Meat Company shut its doors after 67 years in business on  October 5, 2007 .

3.  Cargill Beef Products - and Other Beef Products.  Over 840,000 pounds of beef was recalled on October 6th by Cargill Meats.  These products are frozen ground beef patties with the establishment number “Est. 924A” inside the USDA mark of inspection, and include 6-pound boxes of “American Chef’s Selection Angus Beef Patties 18-1/3 Pound Patties.” Each package bears a case code of “7703100″ and various package codes of Best If Used By dates of “02/05/08,” “02/06/08,” “02/12/08,” and “02/13/08.”  The remainder of the patties were distributed to restaurants and institutions.  The FDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service site is also listing various companies announcing smaller size recalls of ground beef products, so check that site before using any beef patties you’ve purchased. 

4.  Children’s Cold Medicines – Cold medicines include infant versions of Johnson & Johnson’s Pediacare and its Tylenol drops; Novartis’ Triaminic strips; Prestige Brands Holdings’ Little Colds Decongestant; and Wyeth’s Dimetapp drops.  Some of the nation’s largest drug makers are reporting that they will no longer sell cold medicines targeted at infants due to safety concerns, as recommended by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Have questions?  If you have a food or drug safety question, you can contact ”Karen,” the FDA’s virtual representative, 24/7 at AskKaren.gov.  For a real human, there is a toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) ) available in both English and Spanish, and lines are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday. (It has recorded food safety messages 24/7.)

The Associated Press reports that 80% of the world’s toys are made in China, so expect more recalls to follow Mattel’s lead (pardon the pun).

What toys are being recalled?  And, what’s the real danger of lead poisoning anyway?

Mattel has a list of all recalls at its website.  The US Consumer Product Safety Commission has its own list of Mattel recalls here – going back to 1979.   These recent recalls involve very popular toys (yes, Barbie’s involved) and some that are targeted to very young folk (think Fisher Price). 

For example, Mattel’s Elmo Stacking Rings (shown here) were recalled earlier in August because of lead problems.  What kid doesn’t chow down on these things?

What’s the big deal about lead? 

Okay, first why use it?  It’s good as both a pigment, and because it helps paint to dry faster. 

What’s the danger?  In young children (0-6), lead poisoning can impact their physical growth: stunting IQs, delaying development, damaging their central nervous system and causing hearing loss.  Older kids and adults can get kidney disease from ingesting lead; it can cause reproductive problems as well as high blood pressure and other ailments; and enough lead taken into the body can be fatal. 

Why do all these recalls?  First, it’s the right thing to do.  Second, it’s required by law.  Third, it helps to limit the liability of the corporation in any future lawsuits where babies or young kids have been harmed by these Chinese-painted toys.   Out there, somewhere, are children who may already have injected lead and been harmed by it – but the injuries haven’t revealed themselves yet.  When the suit is ultimately filed to get Mattel to pay for such things as medical expenses, long-term care costs, etc., Mattel can point to these recalls as part of its defense, to limit its liability. 

For more information on lead poisoning, see the Environmental Protection Agency’s site concering Lead Poisoning. 

See, 16 CFR 1303 (permissible product lead limits established in 1978).

This morning, Natural Balance issued a pet food recall of its Chicken Canned Dog Formula (13 oz.), Beef Canned Dog Formula (13 oz.), Lamb Canned Dog Formula (13 oz.), and the Ocean Fish Canned Cat Formula (3oz. & 6oz.).  The company had already recalled its Venison and Brown Rice dog food (wet and dry) and Venison and Green Pea cat food (dry).  

Dog treats and dog chews are getting recalled now, as well.  Natural Balance’s Venison and Brown Rice and all Blue Buffalo dog treats have been recalled, as have dog chews made by T.W.Enterprises. 

Wheat protein and rice protein both appear to be contamination sources (melamine in the wheat; cyanuric acid in the rice).  Many are choosing to avoid all pet food until this danger subsides: accordingly, I’ve culled thru the search engines to find these online collections of  homemade pet food recipes (food and treats).  Here goes:

HealthyPetFood Recipes (nice overview, not that many specific recipes)

I-Love-Dogs.Com (lots of dog treat recipes here)

Shirley’s Wellness Cafe (she’s got raw food recipes here, too)

Recipzaar.com (over 200 recipes listed for dogs and cats)

As more and more beloved pets are being seriously harmed, sometimes fatally, by these tainted commercial foods, the law’s treatment of pets as physical property of little value is being questioned.  Class action suits are being discussed in several locations. 

In today’s San Diego Source/Daily Transcript, over 50 lawsuits were reported as seeking class action status with lawyers, animal rights activists, and pet owners joining forces to have the law reflect the true value of the family pet.  If you have any questions about this issue, or how to get involved, please feel free to contact Seth Bloom, here at BloomLegal.

This morning, more pet food recalls: the Vets Choice and Royal Canin brands of dog and cat food (dry this time, not like the earlier cuts-and-gravy foods) have been recalled by the manufacturer. On April 10th, MenuFoods expanded its recall to include cat food, as well as dog food, under its brand.

The FDA has an ongoing, updated list of the recalled food at its site (click here). However, as recently as last Thursday, the FDA warned that not all the contaminated food is off the shelf: its nation-wide spot checks reveal store clerks aren’t being vigilant in pulling these products.

And — as if this wasn’t bad enough — on Friday the 13th, Listerine recalled every bottle of its Agent Cool Blue, a plaque-detecting rinse marketed to children. The manufacturer, McNeil-PPC, Inc., wants all of its 4 Million bottles of mouth rinse returned. Apparently, the preservatives in the liquid aren’t sufficient to kill microorganisms in the rinse.

How scary is this Listerine recall? No one knows. According to the company’s press release, there haven’t been any reports of harm — although the company warns “there could be a significant health risk to individuals with weakened or suppressed immune systems.”

The Listerine recall is a “voluntary recall” – the company is doing this proactively, not responding to governmental action or public pressure. It’s true that voluntary recalls occur every day; more info on these product recalls can be found on the FDA’s web site.

Not every recall makes the news, so you may want to surf the FDA’s site. It’s not cumulative of all recalls tho: the recall of Don Imus by MSNBC, for example, won’t be listed there. Maybe Imus thinks it should be?

More Sources:

BusinessDay

Menu Foods

Drug Newswire

MSNBC – Imus in the Morning