On Wednesday November 7, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall for a common children’s product called Aqua Dots, a toy craft kit that includes small beads. When swallowed, the beads convert into a chemical ingredient (similar to a date rape drug) that poses severe health threats—children in the U.S. and other countries who have ingested these beads have lapsed into a coma or otherwise taken gravely ill.
It is becoming clearer to consumers everyday that having our public health and safety predicated on a recall system is inefficient, unnecessary and dangerous. Over the past several months, products being recalled range from tires to seafood to children’s toys and more. Recalls are supposed to be a last resort, after every diligent precaution has been taken by business and government to ensure the safety of products on our shelves. This parade of recalls shines a light on an unacceptable level of corporate misbehavior, government inertia, and the resulting chaos for consumers and parents.
MASSPIRG is calling for immediate action by Congress to pass the Consumer Product Safety Reform Act of 2007, a bill which would add the staff, enforcement authority, and independent surveillance of imports that this critical agency needs to carry out its mission to protect the public. “Parents and consumers should not have to head into the holiday shopping season in fear for their families’ safety,” said Domenitz. “Clearly we cannot rely on the corporate toy businesses to make safe products, and we cannot rely on the Bush administration to strengthen the agency that is supposed to serve as our watchdog. When parents ask us what to do next, we tell them ‘call your Congressman.’ “ The CPSC reform act, S 2045, was reported out of a Senate subcommittee last week.
