Toyota has announced another recall, this time of its RAV4 and Highlander SUV vehicles. The manufacturer issued the recall after reports that the side curtain airbags may inadvertently deploy as a result of a problem with electronic sensors. The recall involves just over 200,000 RAV4s from the 2007-2008 model years and 94,000 Highlander and Highlander HV hybrids from 2008.
The deadline is fast approaching for residential and commercial property owners to report and receive replacements for defective fire sprinklers, recalled in June 2007. The initial recall, which includes a voluntary replacement program, included about 300,000 model J series dry fire sprinklers manufactured by Globe Fire Sprinkler. The recall was announced due to a concern that the sprinklers can deteriorate over time and fail to operate in a fire situation. The deadline for home and commercial property owners to submit a claim and receive replacement sprinkler heads is June 1, 2011.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Health Canada, in cooperation with Kiddieland Toys Limited, of Scituate, Mass., has announced a voluntary recall of the Lights and Sounds Children's Scooters. The manufacturer reports a child's finger can get caught in the hinge mechanism between the steering column and the platform, posing a laceration hazard.
Bulk cartons of cucumbers are being recalled by Raleigh, N.C.-based L&M Companies, Inc., because they could be contaminated with salmonella. The recall includes 1,590 bulk cartons of cucumbers distributed between March 30 and April 7 to New York, Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming. The recalled cartons are marked with the name Nature's Delight and contain the lot # PL-RID-002990 on the side.
Spring has only just arrived and the weather is getting warmer, but already in the first few months of 2011 there have been 37 reports of drownings and 38 near-drowning incidents. In light of these alarming numbers and with the summer swimming season just around the corner, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is highlighting water saftey in hopes of saving lives. The agency has launched a public service campaign and provides safety tips at its website, www.PoolSafely.gov.
Johnson & Johnson has announced another recall, this time on the prescription anti-epilepsy drug Topamax (tropiramate). Consumers have reported an uncharacteristic musty odor in the pills. The odor is thought to be caused by trace amounts of TBA (2, 4, 6 tribromoanisole), and is not considered to be toxic, though some consumers have reported temporary gastrointestinal symptoms.
A product used in radiation treatment is being recalled because the device may shed particles of chemical, known as tungsten, into the body that can show up in later scans and x-rays as suspicious calcifications.
A device used to treat brain aneurysms is being recalled because a defect in the product may lead to serious injury including blood clots and stroke.
In February, Ford announced a limited recall of just under 150,000 of its best-selling F150 pickup trucks, citing problems with the front airbags which could cause them to unexpectedly deploy. However, today the auto manufacturer has significantly expanded this recall to include almost 1.2 million vehicles.
More than $6 million in OTC and hospital medical supplies including medicated wipes and antifungal creams were seized by federal officials because the products may have contributed to serious infections and death. U.S. Marshals, acting on behalf of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), raided the manufacturing plant of H&P Industries Inc. and the Triad Group collecting providone iodine and benzalkonium chloride antiseptic products, cold and cough medicines, nasal sprays, suppositories, medicated wipes, antifungal creams, and hemorrhoidal wipes.
