The UK’s EU referendum: All you need to know
June 24, 2016, BBC
The world is still trying to digest the new reality of an EU without the UK among its members. What does it all mean to individuals, to trade, and to countries around the world? BBC walks through some of the basic impacts of the historic UK vote to leave the EU. How does it effect EU residents living in the UK and UK residents living in the EU? And on the business level, will a Brexit harm product safety?  Probably not…but it would depend…”

Brexit: what next for the UK and EU?
June 24, 2016, The National Law Review (Squire Patton Boggs)
One attorney advises that the UK referendum was just a vote, and in immediate legal terms there is “much less to this than meets the eye.” However, there are immediate considerations that can be addressed in a proactive way to begin preparing for changes that can take place affecting employment, pensions, commercial contracts, and trade.

China, US, EU pledge to tighten product safety in e-commerce
June 22, 2016, abcnews.com
Delegates to a trilateral product safety summit being held in Beijing said in bilingual statement that they will jointly enforce product safety in online commerce. The rapid growth of international e-commerce “has created new challenges,” in protecting consumers from dangerous products.  CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye, heading up the U.S. delegation, said that the U.S.-Chinese relationship in product safety is close and cooperative, in contrast to disputes in other areas.  He also said that the U.S. is making progress in crafting standards for hoverboards through the efforts of standard organizations UL and ASTM.

Interview: Enhanced EU-China cooperation on product safety benefits both sides: EU Commissioner
June 19, 2016, New China
The European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers, and Gender Equality, Vera Jourova, said that the European Union and China need to strengthen cooperation in the field of product safety which is in the interest of both sides. She said in an interview ahead of her visit to a trilateral product safety meeting in Beijing for an EU, U.S., and China product safety summit that her goal for the meeting was to build cooperation especially with fast developing e-commerce, and to create a stronger roof for quicker action and better communications between the EU and China.

The president just signed a law that affects nearly every product you use
June 22, 2016, The Washington Post
President Obama signed a bill into law that places stronger regulations on chemicals present in nearly every product Americans use, including detergents, clothing, paint thinners, cleanser, and automobiles. Congress passed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act after decades of criticism from environment groups calling “one of the worst environmental laws on the books.

China vows to replace ‘poisonous’ running tracks at schools
June 24, 2016, The New York Times
Chinese officials have pledged to replace school running tracks made of industrial waste that have reportedly sickened thousands of children, the latest in a series of public health scandals. The Ministry of Education will coordinate with environmental protection and quality inspection authorities to inspect synthetic rubber tracks across China this summer.

 Online Dealz ordered to pay $100,000 fine for selling unsafe cots, strollers
June 22, 2016, Sydney Morning Herald
An online Australian retailer which sold hundreds of unsafe cots and strollers has been ordered to pay a $100,000 penalty by the Federal Court. About 250 unsafe items were sold on line, including eBay and Gumtree, using misleading claims that they were “certified to Australian standards.”

Milwaukee among US cities accused of concealing lead
June 20, 2016 wateronline
The city of Milwaukee recently found itself in unfortunate company as one of 33 major cities accused of concealing dangerous levels of lead in its drinking water. The city advised consumers to “let the tap run three to five minutes and then fill the sample bottle,” which would distort the results of the test, intended to detect lead. 

Youth education initiative to improve fireworks safety
June 24, 2016, Health News Digest
The American Pyrotechnics Association has launched a youth education initiative to promote the responsible use of consumer fireworks. The group formed a new 501 (c) (3) charitable organization and engaged former CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum to spearhead the development and distribution of age appropriate curriculum and resources to teach young people more about fireworks and fireworks safety.

Blog: How to avoid a product recall? Test, test, and test some more
June 16, 2016, London School of Economics
As recalls rise, manufacturers are advised to head off trouble early. One consultant urges businesses to avert the financial and reputation losses that flow from a recall: take pain to avoid putting out a defective product in the first place.

CPSC reaches second civil penalty agreement in as many weeks; Sunbeam Products to pay $4.5 million to resolve late reporting allegations
June 6, 2016, The National Law Review (Mintz Levin)
The CPSC is set to announce yet another civil penalty. Sunbeam Products d/b/a Jarden Consumer Solutions has agreed to resolve charges that it knowingly failed to immediately report certain defects and an unreasonable risk of serous injury involving some of the company’s coffeemakers.

Statement of Commissioner Joseph P. Mohorovic regarding the Commissioner’s provisional civil penalty settlement with Sunbeam Products, Inc. D/B/A Jarden Consumer Solutions
June 6, 2016, cpsc.gov
The Commissioner returns to “…a familiar cry. We are insufficiently rigorous in our penalty calculations, with the results being a penalty settlement that I feel is too high and unsupported by the facts.” He doesn’t disagree that Jarden had a reporting obligation, “and that the company took too long to fulfill that obligation.”  He cites a penalty involving more serious injuries to children that had a lower penalty.

Congress passes landmark chemical regulations reform
June 10, 2010, National Law Review (Barnes and Thornburg LLP)
By a voice vote, the U.S. Senate approved a sweeping bipartisan amendment to the federal law regulating chemical manufacturing and use, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA).  The measure, known as the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act (H.R. 2576) already passed the U.S. House of Representative with broad bipartisan majorities and now will reach the White House where President Obama is expected to sign the legislation into law.

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission seeks action against Dr. Reddy’s
June 9, 2016, Business Standard
The commission alleges the drug maker failed to report a ‘non-compliance, defect, unreasonable risk’ relating to blister packs as is legally required. The agency asked the U.S. Department of Justice to seek civil penalties from Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, Limited in a five-year old case related to non-reporting of a possible hazard posed to children from non-child resistant packaging for five prescription drugs. The Commission’s vote was 4-1 favorable to pursuing the charges and recommend the action covering penalties and other remedial measures.

After tip-over deaths, Casey proposes mandatory safety standards for dressers
June 9, 2016, GMT Philly (phily.com)
Citing the “alarming number of children” killed in furniture tip-overs, Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Bob Casey introduced legislation that would force all dresser manufacturers to meet the same stability standard.   The senator, citing the deaths of 3 toddlers since 2014 who died when their Ikea MALM dressers toppled onto them, said major companies are taking advantage of the fact that the current standard is voluntary. The STURDY Act – short for Stop Tip-overs of Unstable, Risky Dressers on Youth – would give the CPSC the ability to streamline the typically onerous process for mandating a safety standard.

Some companies break ranks to halt risk of kids dying from window cords
June 9, 2016, alternet.org
(Story reported by FairWarning, a non-profit news organization focused on public health, safety, and environmental issues). This spring SelectBlinds.com did something once unheard of in the window-covering industry: it stopped selling blinds and shades with pull cords. Over the last 30 years, corded window coverings have killed or injured hundreds of children. Now a few companies from the industry have started breaking ranks. CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye called the decision by SelectBlinds.com  “a great step forward for safety.” In recent months, big box chains including Target and Ikea have stopped selling corded blinds and shades.

And it all came tumbling down
June 6, 2016, MicroScope
Products in all areas of life are being recalled. That includes the computing and IT areas, and the risks posed by products in this channel, and all of levels of its supply chain. So consider the recent recalls of battery packs from Sony (March, 2016 – risk of overheating), Toshiba (January, 2016 – fire hazard), and Fujitsu (August, 2015 – fire hazard). These issues affect the UK and extend beyond it to the EU.

The Takata airbag recall is now a full-blown crisis
June 10, 2016, Fortune
While 70 million vehicles in the U.S. have been recalled by Takata to fix potentially life-saving airbags, only 8 million have actually been fixed. U.S. regulators estimate the fixes could take 2 years to complete.  Honda is at the center of the recall with some 10 million Honda and Acura cars recalled. The largest safety recall in America’s history has drawn the ire of safety advocates and Congress.

 U.S. and European footwear industries unite, urging meaningful provision in trans-Atlantic trade pact
June 8, 2016, 4-Traders.com
Three trade associations representing the U.S. and European footwear industries issued a joint statement urging the United States and the European Union to eliminate footwear trade barriers in the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP). Harmonization of footwear standards and regulations and duty free access will reduce cost and add benefits to members and their customers according to one of the association leaders. CPSC Commissioner Joseph Mohorovic was present to witness the signing.

FDA moves too slowly on food recalls, report finds
June 9, 2016, nbcnews.com
The Office of Inspector General at the Health and Human Services Department found that it took a producer of Hispanic-style cheese more than 2 months to recall listeria-contaminated products. The report says that the Food and Drug Administration often moves too slowly on recalls, letting companies take their time in recalling contaminated food, and leading the public uninformed and in danger.

Teavana agrees to pay $3.75 million civil penalty for failure to report hazardous tea tumblers
June 1, 2016, cpsc.gov
An U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission news release states that the penalty settles charges that Teavana knowingly failed to report to CPSC as required by federal law, that the tumblers contained a defect that could create a substantial product hazard or that the tumblers created an unreasonable risk of serious injury. The company failed to report to the CPSC complaints about the tea tumblers unexpectedly exploding, shattering or breaking during normal usage, including 6 reports of injuries to consumers who suffered cuts to their fingers or legs by broken glass or burns from hot liquid. In addition, the company agreed to comply with and maintain the compliance program of its parent company that is designed to ensure compliance with the Consumer Product Safety Act and regulations enforced by the Commission.

CPSC announces civil penalty against Teavana; Commissioners remain divided on civil penalty enforcement, calculations, and transparency.
May 31, 2016, The National Law Review (Mintz Levin)
An analysis of the Commission action highlights that Commissioners remain divided on civil penalty enforcement, calculations, and transparency.  Commissioner Joseph Mohorovic, in a strongly worded dissent, explains his concerns about how the agency “calculates, imposes, and settles civil penalty demands for alleged violations” of CPSC statutes.  Mohorovic’s dissent comes on the heels of a similar statement by Commissioner Ann Marie Buerkle over how the Commission pursues civil penalties.

Why it seems like there’s a rash of recalls lately: better detection, fewer suppliers
May 29, 2016, Seattle Times
A deluge of recalls this year shows no sign of slowing down. A record 51 million vehicles, a doubling of food recalls since 2002, and an average of a recall a day announced by the Consumer Product Safety Commission are indications that across industries the trends are the same.  Two factors are driving this activity: stricter safety rules including more testing and certifications, and industry’s reliance on few more widely shared suppliers. The result is recalls that are larger and more complicated to manage.

Hoverboards angling for comeback
June 1, 2016, wraltechwire.com
Forget the fires: Hoverboards just want a second chance.  Having largely vanished from the U.S. and other regional markets due to a tendency to burst into flames, manufacturers are hoping for a second chance. Segway will begin taking Amazon pre-orders for a new hoverboard to be shipped in July. It’s a significant step given the fact that Amazon, Walmart, and other retailers dumped the products months ago.

Recalling years of recalls of dangerous products
May 27, 2016, Detroit News/Associated Press
Takata, the Japanese air bag maker has joined a list of notorious product recalls, some of which were handled better than others, but all on the list had their defective products in the hands of millions of consumers creating a wide spread serious hazard. Ford Pinto, Johnson and Johnson’s Tylenol, and Firestone tires are just a few of the illustrations of products in the hands of consumers threatening them and their families with serious injuries or even deaths.

China formulating standards for personal information security and data protection
June 1, 2016, The National Law Review (Covington & Burling LLP)
China’s National Information Security Standardization Technical Committee organized a meeting to launch a working group tasked with drafting a Personal Information Security Standard. In addition to government agency participation in the Committee, several Chinese research institutions and internet companies (including Tencent and Alibaba) will participate in the working group. An official said the standard would cover both data privacy and security.

FDA: One case may change recall procedure for online food sales
May 28, 2016, digitaljournal.com
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering whether they need to develop food recall procedures and notifications for on-line retailers selling food products over the internet.  This unusual move is in response to a new Salmonella Virchow case reported by Wisconsin health officials recently. The latest victim brings the total number of cases to 34 in a food-borne illness outbreak that was declared over on April 21 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Product recall system needed
May 29, 2016, The Star/Malaysia
A more effective and specific product recall system, similar to the one in Europe, is needed to better protect consumers from faulty and potentially dangerous products, according to a Malaysian leader with the Malaysian Association of Standards Users. Nur Asyikin Arminuddin, a technical policy (product safety) executive with the association says such a system is important to help consumers identify which products to avoid.  She points to the European Commission’s Rapid Alert System as one that would “be easy for consumers to refer to by having a user friendly product recall list uploaded on-line.”

VW Group profit rises 3.4% despite steep plunge in core brand results
May 31, 2016, Automotive News Europe
While the Groups overall profit rose, profit at the core VW brand plunged 86^ highlighting the challenge the carmaker faces in emerging from the nearly nine-month old emissions cheating scandal.  Revenue fell 3.4% to 51 billion euros. “2016 will be a transitional year for Volkswagen that will see us fundamentally realign the group,” says company CEO Matthias Mueller.

Increased transparency becoming a business critical initiative
May 26, 2016, environmental leader.com
Consumer, public interest groups, and government, along with media, are demanding information about the safety and environmental impacts of the products being sold today, and organizations are responding in larger numbers. This trend is spreading through the supply chain. Consumers in the U.S., U.K., and China rate “honesty and transparency” alongside price and quality when considering whether to buy a product or brand. Companies are working to obtain greater insight into their supply chains and improved transparency for consumers.

Consumer Product Update: Health Canada alerts consumers to risks in purchasing products on line
May 27, 2016, Montreal Gazette
Health Canada is informing consumers of potential risks in buying consumer products and cosmetics online, including the fact that some products from around the world may not meet Canadian laws and regulations. Some have been recalled from the Canadian market for failure to meet health or safety requirements. Consumers are directed to various government websites that list information about products that have been recalled or are considered unsafe.

Recalled products sold by Home Depot after recalls were announced
May 19, 2016, GMT RSS feed
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Home Depot are warning consumers that 28 different recalled products continued to be sold by Home Depot after they were recalled between 2012 and 2015. This involves 2,310 units of recalled products, including about 1,300 sold by Home Depot to consumers, and 1,010 sent by Home Depot to salvagers or recyclers who could have sold them to consumers.

2 hoverboard fires in 2 weeks in Alabama spark safety reminders
May 21, 2016, Alabama News
The two fires occurred in Tuscaloosa. In one case, authorities said the owners plugged in their hoverboard to charge in the garage and left home. Later, neighbors heard a commotion coming from the garage and the fire was discovered. The events led authorities to remind owners to take precautions when charging electronic devices in their homes.

       Commissioner Viewpoints

CPSC Commissioner Marietta Robinson Blog:  An idea that came from a Saint Louis University product safety class sparked the Commissioner’s office to look further into a program to improve product recall effectiveness. The Commissioners unanimously approved an amendment introduced by Commissioners Robinson and Ann Marie Buerkle for mid-year adjustments to the FY 2016 Operational Plan, providing funding for a pilot test of a youth incentive program to increase awareness at the local level of product safety and recalls.

Safety first: regulators increase fines as injuries rise
May 17, 2016, marketwired
A recall index highlights a Q1-2016 decline in recall activity among certain sectors, even as the number of units recalled in the consumer products and automotive industries rose substantially.  The Stericycle survey found that consumer product related injuries rose ten-fold over the same time last year.  In addition to these trends, Q1 saw the continuation of a rise in fines issued by the CPSC.

Lawmakers reach deal to expand regulation of toxic chemicals
May 19, 2016, The New York Times
House and Senate negotiators reached agreement on far-reaching legislation to overhaul the national’s 40-year-old law governing toxic chemicals, a compromise that would subject thousands of household chemicals to regulation for the first time.  Under current law, about 64,000 chemicals are not subject to environmental testing or regulation.

Teaching the Board how to oversee and monitor compliance
May 17, 2016, jdsupra.com
Board members believe they know what they need to know, and increasingly their focus is on compliance issues. The chief compliance officer plays a critical role in this education process, beginning with Board member understanding of the importance and relevance of information they receive. Internal investigations weigh heavily in this process, and board members, not appreciating surprises, should be informed early on about such matters.

Glyphosate license amid cancer row
May 19, 2016, CNBC
The European Union delayed a vote on renewing sales approval for the pesticide glyphosate, used in Monsanto’s popular weed-killer Roundup, amid a transatlantic row over whether it may cause cancer. Experts for U.N.’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) said glyphosate is unlikely to pose a risk to human exposed to it through food, a finding that matches that of the European Food Safety Authority. The finding runs counter to a 2015 study by WHO’s Lyon-based International Agency for Research on Cancer.

Indiana survey reveals lead water lines
May 17, 2016, The Journal Gazette
Nearly 100,000 customers of Indiana’s largest water systems have service lines made of lead or lead components, according to a recent newspaper report.  The Indianapolis Star cites an Indiana Department of Environmental Management it obtained that showed 91 of the state’s largest water systems have an estimated 8 per cent with lead or lead components, increasing concern throughout the state.  Amid actions taken in other communities following the water crisis in Flint, Michigan, Chicago Public Schools announced the expansion of a testing program after finding one school out of 32 buildings tested had positive results for lead in school water.

In brand we trust: How recalls at Trader Joes, Costco can enhance customer engagement
May 18, 2016, Forbes
Trader Joe’s, Safeway, and Costco are among major grocery retail chains affected by a recall of 358 frozen food products under 42 fruit and vegetable brands. While most headlines address the dangers of food contamination, the recall also serves as one more reminder of the highly effective role retailers and their loyalty programs could play in preventing illnesses.

GM will pay owners of crossovers over mileage labels
May 20, 2016, Detroit Free Press
The company is offering between $450 and $900 or an extended warranty to about 135,000 owners of 2016 model crossover vehicles that carried window stickers that overstated their fuel economy by 1 to 2 miles per gallon. The company said that the discrepancy was related to new emission-related hardware in the vehicles.

Safety agency could sue IKEA over dresser stability issue, official says
May 11, 2016, arcamax.com
Federal safety regulators will sue IKEA if the retailer does not take new steps to address problems with potentially unstable dressers already blamed for 3 toddlers’ deaths. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairman Elliot Kaye told a meeting of safety advocates that while the agency approved what IKEA was allowed to call a repair program it launched last summer, he told the advocates there was now “no day light” between their demands for action and his own.

Payless is pulling light-up kids shoes suspected of catching fire
May 11, 2016, Fortune
Payless is reportedly pulling its boys’  Jake Lighted Runner light-up shoes over suspicion that they caused a fire in an SUV in Texas. The boy’s parents told a local NBC station that he left them in the SUV over the week-end, and when they opened the car, the back seat was charred. The parents blamed the shoes’ lithium batteries, which have been linked to other product fires, for the incident. These batteries are also believed to be the cause for fires caused by hoverboards in the U.S. and other countries.

Statute of Limitations: Taking the steam out of CPSC-backed enforcement action
May 11, 2016, JDSupra/Morrison & Foerster
An ongoing case against Spectrum Brands, Inc. may shed light on whether certain Consumer Product Safety Commission enforcement efforts would be time-barred and limit the penalties available under the Consumer Product Safety Act. The case stems from a violation on reporting hazardous coffeemakers that were introduced by Spectrum into the U.S. market in early 2008.  Incidents involving reports of handles breaking and causing hot coffee spills on consumer began occurring in 2008. According to the government’s recently filed motion for summary judgment, Spectrum had received 60 reports by the end of May, 2009, and more than 300 by the end of 2009, providing the company with sufficient information in the form of consumer complaints to trigger the relevant reporting requirements “no later than May 2009.” Spectrum reported the alleged product hazard in April 2012. Spectrum has moved for partial summary judgment based on the relevant statute of limitations. The company argues that CPSC’s claims for civil penalties stemming from delayed reporting are untimely based on the CPSC filing in June 2015 of a complaint against Spectrum for failure to timely report the product hazard.

Hawaii sues Takata, Honda over exploding air bag inflators
March 13, 2016, The Wall Street Journal
The state claims that the defective air bags threaten peoples’ lives in a law suit filed in the First Circuit Court of Hawaii that also names auto manufacturer Honda. Hawaii is the first state in the United States to sue over air bags. More than 70,000 cars containing Takata air bags were sold in Hawaii, and the state is seeking penalties of $10,000 per violation. This development follows Takata’s announcement recently that it will lose $120 million in its latest fiscal year as the costs of the crisis have mounted.

Lumber Liquidators posts worse than expected loss as sales dip
May 10, 2016,  Bloomberg/The Standard
Lumber Liquidators Holdings’ Inc., whose stock has tumbled 52% in the past year, reported its fourth straight sales decline since the “60 Minutes” news program reported in March 2015 that the chain sold Chinese-made laminate flooring with cancer-causing levels of formaldehyde. The company denied those allegations and eventually stopped selling those kinds of floors. Sales for the past quarter fell 10% to $234 million.

Feds investigating hoverboard fire in north end apartment
May 11, 2016, Boston Herald
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is probing the fire that drove 3 families out of their North End Boston apartments. Confirming this hoverboard investigation, CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis said “We consider them to be defective and pose an unreasonable threat of fires to consumers if they fail. Do not buy a hoverboard that does not meet the safety standard.” Since August the agency has investigated 60 hoverboard fires in 20 states in which faulty batteries are suspected.

3-D Printing and regulatory future home remedies: pharma-to-table
May 13, 2016, National Law Review /New York University School of Law
Last August the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its first drug produced by additive manufacturing or “3-D Printing.” While the agency recently conducted a workshop on 3-D printing, it appears in no rush – the subject was dropped from its 2016 Guidance Agenda entirely for 2016 though it had suggested it will soon issue relevance guidance. Still, the day is not far off where 3-D printers will become ordinary home appliances, and its use in drug manufacturing won’t be far behind it.

California’s Proposition 65: History and Proposed Amendments in 2016
May 10, 2016, Stinson, Leonard, Street
At California Governor Jerry Brown’s urging for reform, the state’s Proposition 65 is undergoing a process of public involvement. Significant opposition to the initial proposal introduced in January, 2015 by the state’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment led to its being pulled from consideration last November. A new set of proposed changes were released March 25, 2016. They include changes in safe harbor label wording as well as links to a yet-to-be created Proposition 65 website. There are also clarifications, including on methods of transmission for consumer product exposure warnings for internet sales.

Terrorism and oil prices impact global supply chain resilience
May 13, 2016, ebnonline
The increasingly global business of electronics has the supply chain at its heart, making supply chain resilience a crucial business strategy. Volatility in oil prices, political volatility, and terrorism are all pressing concerns.  Just released, the 2016 FM Global Resilience Index ranks countries’ business resilience to supply chain disruption. Resilient supply chains are a competitive advantage and fragile supply chains can harm companies, according to an industry analyst. Understanding the risks based on data analysis can be an important first step in minimizing risk.

Cra-Z-Art toy jewelry kits found to have high lead levels; New York AG urges CPSC recall
April 22, 2016, The New York Times
New York State attorney general Eric T. Schneiderman said that his office opened an investigation to determine how toys with dangerously high levels of lead ended up for sale at leading retailers. Some of the jewelry sets from the arts-and-crafts brand Cra-Z-Art contained as much as 10 times the amount permitted by federal safety limits. The attorney  general, who has no authority to order a product recall, urged the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a nationwide recall, which the agency is now looking into according to CPSC Chairman Elliot Kaye.

IKEA issues another safety warning over furniture range after third child is killed
April 20, 2016, WGN-TV
The multinational furniture company first issued a warning about the Malm range back in July, 2015 after two children were killed when drawers and wardrobes fell on them, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. IKEA is investigating the incident, and emphasized that “the best way to prevent tip-over of chests of drawers is to attach products to the wall with the included restraints and hardware per the assembly instructions.”

 Editorial: The consumer game of whack-a-mole with chemical dangers
April 23, 2016, Bangor Daily News
An announcement by Campbell Soup Co. in March that it would phase out BPA in all its cans inadvertently highlights the short comings of U.S. chemical regulations. BPA is an endocrine disruptor that can interfere with the reproductive, immune and developmental systems. Now, it turns out, some of the chemicals used in place of BPA also are dangerous, suggesting that testing and disclosures of the risks of alternatives must speed up.

____________________________________________________________________

 Auto industry global pressure over emission testing and misleading data

>Volkswagen reaches deal in U.S. over emissions scandal
April 22, 2016, The New York Times
The German automaker agreed to fix or buy back nearly 500,000 diesel cars in the U.S. that are equipped with illegal emission software.  But the settlement announced in federal court in San Francisco leaves open numerous legal and financial issues stemming from the carmaker’s admission that it rigged diesel vehicles to cheat on pollution tests. The costs of the recall will be higher than the $7.6 billion Volkswagen initially set aside for the violations, according to one analyst. The car maker announced it has raised this amount to $18 billion.

>VW deal doesn’t fix deeper problems in emissions testing
April 21, 2016, Public Radio International
The framework deal allows owners to choose whether they’d like their cars to be purchased by the carmaker or fixed, but details of the deal between the carmaker and U.S. regulators, including buy back prices, won’t be finalized for weeks. Fees for environmental clean up and a fund to promote green automotive technology that haven’t been set yet will push the total much higher than the $1 billion total expected from compensation for car owners. Despite the deterrent of record high settlement costs, it will still be easy for manufacturers to game the system in an emissions testing process that is flawed.

>Mitsubishi Motors mileage scandal widens, U.S. regulator seeks information
April 22, 2016, Reuters
U. S.  auto safety authorities said they were seeking information from the Japanese car manufacturer, as media reports that Mitsubishi submitted misleading data on at least one more model than disclosed and likely several others. Japan’s 6^th largest automaker admitted this week that it had overstated the fuel efficiency of 625,000 cars, wiping off around 40% of its market value, or $3.2 billion in 3 days.
____________________________________________________________________

China: An overview of the new food safety law
April 19, 2016, Food Safety Magazine
The revised law came into effect in October, 2015. In December the China Food and Drug Administration published draft amendments to the implementing regulations for public consultation.  Among the changes are a new centralized system of enforcement, new record keeping requirements, and registration of food importers, importing agencies, and manufacturers. On line food platforms, health foods, baby foods, and genetically modified foods are among other revisions to be implemented under the new law.

Secure Beginnings, LLC is supporting stricter regulations for crib mattresses after suffocation of 7-month old baby
April 18, 2016, PRNewswire
The Detroit-based manufacturer of breathable crib mattresses is supporting a petition to create higher standards of testing and regulation for baby sleep surfaces. The infant’s family filed the petition following the death that occurred when the infant was put down for a nap in a portable play yard. The cause of death was originally attributed to sudden infant death syndrome, but the family successfully argued in a California court that the cause of death was suffocation from the non-air permeable mattress pad.   An $8 million verdict was awarded against Evenflo Co. the product’s manufacturer, in favor of the family.

Trader sold 100 mattresses that didn’t meet fire safety standards
April 14, 2016, Bournemouth Echo
The Trader, who sold the defective mattresses was spared an immediate jail sentence. He was found guilty of supplying two mattresses and possessing 213 mattresses for sale which did not meet the requirements of the British Standard for fire safety.  He was also found guilty of an offense under the General Product Safety Regulations as he was unable to identify his supplier of the mattresses to the trading standards service.

EU importers calls for a free trade deal with China
April 21, 2016, euractiv.com
The European Union’s top association of retailers is calling for a free trade agreement with China that “goes against the current political climate in the EU vis-à-vis China.” In a position paper, the Foreign Trade Association states that China accounts for 54 percent of its members’ non food product imports.  “At the same time, China is gaining importance as an export and investment destination for FTA members,” the FTA paper says, citing potential benefits of $89 billion to China and $83 billion to the EU.