Takata puts worst-case airbag recall costs at $24 billion
March 30, 2016, Bloomberg
The air bag supplier, which pegged the total recall at 287.5 million inflators, has watched its share price plummet to an all time low. The worst case cost figure amounts to 6 times more than the total assets on its balance sheet at the end of 2015, bringing the company’s value down to $307 million. Takata’s biggest customer, Honda, is also a shareholder and has seen its own company stock drop 3.6 percent in recent trading.
California: BPA warnings may scare poor from canned food
March 25, 2016, Associated Press/Los Angeles Times
California plans to delay state-required warnings on metal cans lined with the chemical BPA, arguing too specific warnings could scare stores and shopper in poor neighborhood away from some of the only fruits and vegetables available-canned ones. Instead, the state on May 11 will require stores to post general warnings at checkout counters about the dangers of BPA and note that some canned and bottled products being sold have liners with the toxic chemical, which some studies have shown at high levels can harm the female reproductive system. The decision by the state’s Environmental Protection Agency has angered some community and public health groups. Among manufactures moving to BPA-free canned products in response to consumer concerns are Del Monte Foods and Campbell’s Soup Co.
Point of View: Lead poisoning is not an ideological issue
March 28, 2016, palmbeachpost.com
Former CPSC Chairman Ann Brown (1994-2002) writes of her concern about children being poisoned by lead in products and in water. While an active Democrat, she says that this issue needs to go beyond politics. “And while Flint happened while a Republican was governor of Michigan, 40 million Americans drink water where the lead level is too high. Plenty of Democratic governors have Flints waiting to happen on their watch.”
Australia: Quad bike safety debate rolls on as Victoria moves to mandate protection bars
March 24, 2016, abc.net.au
Victoria is forging ahead with a controversial rollover protection system for quad bikes, despite 2 coroners in other states finding that the evidence supporting their use is inconclusive. A California-based researcher says he has conducted simulations that show the bars themselves result in injuries. Commissioner Robert Adler of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says that the experience in Australia will be watched with interest in the U.S. based on its liability implications.
Denver-based Zen Magnets ordered to recall “dangerous” spheres
March 24, 2016, Associated Press, Denver Post
A U.S. District Court judge has ordered the Colorado company to recall more than 900,000 BB-sized powerful small magnets destroy them, and offer refunds to consumers. The judge ruled that the company and its owner, Shihan Qu, violated the Consumer Product Safety Act, by repackaging and selling magnets that were purchased from a New Jersey company shortly before the magnets were recalled. The U.S. Justice Department said putting the magnets in a different box and calling them a different name does not permit a company to circumvent a recall.
Children’s Products: Safety regulations governing rattles and magnets
March 23, 2016, jdsupra.com
This overview of safety standards for rattles and magnets sets focuses on the unique risks these products present to young children. The authors provide information that is important and useful to manufacturers, distributors, importers and retailers of these products. Non-compliant rattles are deemed a “mechanical hazard” and a banned substance under the Federal Hazards Substances Act. Magnet sets can pose not only a choking risk to children, but also an ingestion risk.
OECD: Consumer protection laws need updating to improve trust in e-commerce
March 30, 2016, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
Countries should modernize their consumer protection laws to address new risks posed by on-line commerce, including “free” apps and peer-to-peer internet transactions, according to new guidelines issued by the group. Growing concerns over privacy, payment security, legal recourse, and product safety require a response if consumer trust is to be maintained in on-line commerce. A survey done by OECD revealed widespread concern and reluctance to make on-line purchases among consumers about security and privacy.
GSI updates its product recall online portal
March 31, 2016, itwire.com
Not for profit barcode and supply chain standards provider, GS1 Australia, has announced the launch of its Recall service, which it says will minimize the impact and cost of products recalled and withdrawn from the supply chain. The service is an on line portal to provide an electronic product recall notification system which streamlines the management of product recalls by enhancing the speed, efficiency and accuracy of the recall process. Originally set up on 2011 for the food and beverage industry, the system was expanded to healthcare (2013) and general merchandise and apparel industry (2014).
Blame the smartphone: Injuries pile up, from cat bites to shocks to broken bones
March 30, 3016, InfoWorld
Phone related injuries are on the upswing and are the cause of a growing range of consumer risks, reports a columnist. Threats go beyond texting while driving or walking, and now include such oddities as ringing phones that scare dogs and cats into biting people, and people sticking their smartphones into places they shouldn’t be. CPSC data from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System indicates that 523 injuries were reported in 2014 under the category of phones. At least 2 grandmas visited the ER after being struck by thrown phones.
Volkswagen’s quality issues widen with latest recalls
March 29, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
The German carmaker is recalling 5,561 e-Golf battery-electric cars sold in the U.S. between May, 2014 and March, 2016 due to faulty battery software that could cause the vehicles to stall and crash. In addition, the automaker has recalled over 800,000 SUVs because their foot pedals could become loose while driving. The fresh recalls come as troubles continue to mount in the emission’s cheating scandal involving 11 million vehicles the company needs to fix. A court-ordered deadline of April 21 approaches for the company to present a fix for the tainted diesel powered vehicles in the U.S.
