Rome Sentinel

State consumer safety officials issue product recall advice for Baby Safety Month

September is Baby Safety Month, and the New York State Division of Consumer Protection Services has some advice for parents on keeping infants safe around purchased products.

Baby Safety Month is an annual event that focuses on raising awareness of critical lifesaving information to help parents and caregivers keep little ones safe, state officials said.

“Parents and caregivers try to give their babies the best care possible and keep them safe from harm,” said New York Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez, who oversees the Division of Consumer Protection.

“Unfortunately, the products parents purchase may not be as safe as they should be,” Rodriguez said, adding “that is why staying updated on the latest product recalls is vital to protect babies from unsafe products.”

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which issues product recalls across all categories of consumer goods, sometimes even the best baby products will get recalled due to one or more safety issues.

Baby product safety recalls are typically related to suffocation hazards, choking hazards, laceration hazards, tipping hazards, and other safety concerns.

In the past five years, there have been over 220 product recalls of products for babies and kids, according to the state officials. Since 2019, these products have been linked to at least 42 infant deaths and more than 119 injury incidents, many of them resulting in serious injuries, officials said.

Most of the infant fatalities linked to these recalls occurred with inclined sleepers which increase the risk of suffocation, the state officials reported.

Unintentional suffocation is the leading cause of injury death among infants in the United States, with 82% being attributable to accidental suffocation and strangulation in bed.

The most recent example of such a recall occurred in June 2022, when 13 reported infant deaths led to the recall of the Fisher-Price Infant-to-Toddler Rockers and Newborn-to-Toddler Rockers.

In response to this disturbing trend, on June 23, 2022, the CPSC issued anew federal infant sleep products safety standard.

This new mandatory standard eliminates potentially hazardous sleep products in the marketplace that currently do not meet CPSC standards for infant sleep, this includes inclined sleepers, travel and compact bassinets and in-bed sleepers.

How to chose a baby-safe product:

• Stay up-to-date on the latest product recalls at www.CPSC. gov or www.FDA.gov. If you have a recalled product, the first thing you should do is stop using it. Make it a habit to continuously track recalls since hundreds of items are regularly added that have been recalled for safety concerns.

• Check for recalls before you buy or use a new or used baby item. Stores are not always up to date on the latest the recall information, so don’t assume a product is safe just because it’s for sale at a local retailer. Remember to also check for recalls if you purchase used items online, through social media or at a “mom swap” or garage sale.

• Don’t sell or donate recalled items. Follow the recall guidelines for disposing of the item, including the possibility of destroying the item completely so that no one else can use it.

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2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-09-29T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://romesentinel.pressreader.com/article/281689733690214

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