Fisher-Price recalls highchairs and toys

Thousands of high chairs and toys sold in the UK have been recalled by Fisher-Price over safety concerns. It is part of a wider US-led recall of more than 10 million products following reports of injuries. The UK recall of 72,763 high chairs follows 14 reports of problems in the US, including seven children who needed stitches.

Products with inflatable balls have also been recalled following 50 reports of valves coming off. The list of UK products which have been recalled has been issued by parent company Mattel.

The UK highchairs affected are the Basic Healthy Care Cow over the Moon, Flutterby Dream, Aquarium Healthy Care, 3-in-1 High Chair to Booster and Link Deluxe Healthy Care. About 72,763 of the chairs were sold in the UK between September 2001 and August 2010.

'Overwhelmingly safe'

Children could fall on pegs on the back of the high chairs, designed to store the tray, resulting in cuts and other injuries, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said.

Some 165,090 products with inflatable balls have also been recalled in the UK after the CPSC said the valve of the ball could pose a choking hazard. The products include the Baby Playzone Crawl and Cruise Playground, Baby Playzone Crawl and Slide Arcade, Baby Gymtastics Play Wall, Ocean Wonders Kick and Crawl Aquarium, 1-2-3 Tetherball and the Bat and Score Goal. All the items were sold between July 2001 and July 2008.

A further 6,107 Little People Wheelies Stand 'n' Play Rampway toys sold between April and September 2010 have also been recalled after reports that the wheels on the cars could come off, posing a choking hazard.

A UK spokeswoman for Fisher-Price said:

“We want to reassure parents that our products are overwhelmingly safe. We operate in a highly regulated industry and we test our products at many stages during development and production. Our product engineers have many years of experience in designing safe toys.

"In addition, we monitor parents' safety-related reports over time. If we see an issue with a product at any point, even after many have been sold and used safely, we take appropriate action.

"Our actions reflect our continuing commitment to the safety of our products. Hundreds of millions of our products are used safely every day and we believe these simple fixes will continue that excellent record."

‘Panic or don’t panic?’

Although retailers and consumers must be aware that unsafe products still find their way into our homes, the majority of products are safe and do comply with safety standards.  RAPEX, the EU rapid alert system for dangerous products issues a weekly report highlighting unsafe products picked up by market surveillance authorities such as Trading Standards, see http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/dyna/rapex/rapex_archives_en.cfm. 

To help combat these unsafe products TÜV SÜD works closely with manufacturers, importers, retailers and the market surveillance authorities. 

“Not only do our safety compliance experts ensure that products meet international requirements, we routinely conduct product assessments and factory inspections to ensure ongoing safety and quality.”  Richard Poate, Compliance Services Manager, TÜV SÜD.

Our CE marking facility near Stratford conducts risk assessments for due diligence; product testing; compilation and checking of technical documentation and advises steps to be taken to ensure toys are reliably manufactured to the designed to 'safe specifications'.  “These services provide manufacturers with the tools and support necessary to be able for them to sell safe toys; it is vital to ensure that all due diligence is taken, especially where child safety is involved” Alastair McLaughlin, Toy Safety Specialist, TÜV SÜD.

If consumers feel worried they should contact the Fisher-Price helpline on 0800 0320 615.

Click here to view the original article from the BBC, 01/10/2010.