Gratis Mind

Simplicity and Graco Baby Cribs

About 1 million Simplicity and Graco cribs are being recalled after three children became entrapped in their cribs and died of suffocation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday.

Two infants, a 6-month-old and a 9-month-old, died in the recalled cribs, which were sold through May 2007. A 1-year-old child died in a newer model of the cribs, which has not been recalled but is being investigated by the safety agency, CPSC officials said.

Lunch boxes

Lunchbox warning: Health officials say toss them
UNSAFE LEVEL OF LEAD FOUND IN GIVEAWAYS
By Steven Harmon
MediaNews Sacramento Bureau
Article Launched: 09/21/2007 01:33:38 AM PDT

The state’s public health department asked parents Thursday to toss certain Chinese-made lunchboxes potentially containing dangerous levels of lead - the same ones it distributed in a campaign to promote healthy eating.

The department distributed more than 350,000 of the canvas lunchboxes, only to find out that at least three that were tested in a batch of 56,000 contained “significant” levels of lead.

“It certainly is unfortunate that an item we’re using to promote healthy behavior is discovered to be in itself a health hazard,” said Mark Horton, the director of the Department of Public Health. “We will be reassessing our policy on the distribution of our promotional products.”

Horton said he was using an “abundance of caution” in asking parents to discard all 350,000 lunchboxes.

But he didn’t make the announcement to discard the lunchboxes until nearly two months after he was first notified in July by the Sacramento County Public Health Department that it found lead in the lunchboxes through a swab test.

When asked why he didn’t notify the public earlier, Horton insisted proper steps were taken.

“The kind of material we were dealing with required sophisticated testing to determine if there was lead” and if it was a dangerous level, he said. “It took several weeks to conduct the testing.”

He said the department stopped ordering and distributing the lunchboxes back in July and notified agencies that had received them

- though not parents.

“It wasn’t until we got more confirmation tests,” Horton said, “that we decided to take more aggressive action.”

The lunchboxes were imported from China by Los Angeles-based T-A Creations, whose vice president, Andrew Halim, said its initial testing - of only the bag’s lining - found no lead before they were sold to a second company, You Name It Promotions of Oakland, which sold them to the state.

The lunchboxes were given out at health fairs and other events to mainly low-income parents and carried a logo saying “eat fruits and vegetables and be active.”

Consumer advocates said it’s widely known that vinyl and canvas lunchboxes contain lead, and that an agency charged with protecting children’s health should have been more vigilant.

“It’s their mission to prevent illness in children,” said Manju Kulkarni, staff attorney for the National Health Law, which works with the California Health Consumer Alliance, “but, instead, they’re potentially poisoning them by distributing these lunch bags.”

Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water-Apple Flavored

California Department of Public Health warned consumers to immediately stop giving Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water-Apple-flavored to children.

SACRAMENTO - Dr. Mark Horton, director of the California Department
of Public Health (CDPH), today warned consumers, especially parents
of infants, to immediately stop giving Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water -
Apple Flavored to children because it may be contaminated with a
parasitic microorganism called Cryptosporidium, a parasite that can
cause intestinal infections. The product is labeled to “ease the
gas and stomach discomfort often associated with colic, hiccups and
teething.”

Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water - Apple Flavor is advertised and sold as a
liquid herbal supplement on the Internet and at various retail
establishments nationwide, including in California. Approximately
17,600 bottles of this product were distributed nationwide. This
product is labeled and intended for use by infants as young as two
weeks old and is distributed by MOM Enterprises Inc. of San Rafael,
which is recalling the product. The product is packaged in 4 fluid
ounce bottles and identified with Lot Code No. 26952V, expiration of
10/08.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has confirmed through
laboratory analysis that unopened retail samples of the product were
found contaminated with Cryptosporidium after investigating a
confirmed illness in a 6-week-old infant in Minnesota who had
ingested the product. No illnesses have been reported in California.

The most common symptom of infection is watery diarrhea. Other
symptoms can include dehydration, weight loss, stomach cramps or
pain, fever, nausea and vomiting. Symptoms generally begin two to
10 days after becoming infected with the parasite and generally last
one to two weeks. While most people with healthy immune systems
will recover without treatment, the infection could be serious or
life-threatening for certain individuals. Infants, children and
pregnant women are susceptible to dehydration, which can be life-
threatening, resulting from diarrhea. Individuals with weakened
immune systems are also at risk for a more serious and life-
threatening form of illness.

Consumers in possession of Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water - Apple Flavor
should discard it. Parents of children who may have consumed the
suspect product should consult their pediatrician or health care
provider if they are concerned that their child has symptoms of
Cryptosporidium infection.

If Cryptosporidium infection is confirmed, consumers should take
extra precautions to prevent re-infection and/or spreading the
disease. Since this parasite is extremely hearty and resistant to
chlorine and iodine disinfectants, the best protection is to
exercise good personal hygiene by washing hands thoroughly with soap
and water. Parents should wash their hands after every diaper
change and before eating and should wash the hands of infants and
children before they eat.

Consumers who find Baby’s Bliss Gripe Water - Apple Flavor for sale
are encouraged to call the CDPH Complaint Hotline at 1-800-495-3232.