Chicago–(ENEWSPF)–November 22, 2010. Attorney General Lisa Madigan today released her newest recalled products guide as part of her ongoing effort to protect children by educating families on the dangers of having recalled toys, cribs and other potentially dangerous items in their homes. Madigan also urged consumers to sign up for automatic recall notification, a critical step to keep pace with the growing number of recalls every year.
In the past year, hundreds of products were added to the recall list, totaling a staggering 44 million individual items in the marketplace.
“As consumers’ mailboxes fill with holiday catalogs, my Play It Safe Guide is one catalog parents can’t afford to miss for their children’s sake,” Attorney General Madigan said. “Parents have enough to monitor without trying to keep track of the more than 600 products recalled this year. This guide provides an easy way for parents to be sure gifts and other products in your home are safe for your children.”
The Attorney General’s Play It Safe Guide: Subscribe for Safety is now available in print and online and details the products recalled this year. For recalled products, the guide provides the product name and manufacturer and describes the unsafe features. It highlights recalled toys, such as dart guns, inflatable toys and tricycles, along with recalled essentials like cribs, high chairs and strollers. The guide also details how parents of newborns can reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) that kills 2,100 annually.
Consumers can view and download the Play It Safe Guide at Attorney General Madigan’s website, www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov, or request a free, printed copy in the mail by calling the Attorney General’s Recall Hotline at 1-888-414-7678.
Attorney General Madigan also encouraged consumers to sign up for automatic recall notifications via email through the Children’s Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov.
While retailers take action to remove recalled products from their shelves, it is crucial for consumers to be proactive and educate themselves on the products to avoid. Toys and other items may already be in children’s homes and places they visit, like the homes of grandparents or other relatives and daycare centers, posing a significant threat to their safety.
The guide also is important for the many consumers who will shop in the second-hand market or search for online bargains during this economic downturn. Consumers need to be aware of the possibility that some second-hand sellers may not have kept up with the growing number of recalled items.
The Play It Safe Guide is part of Attorney General Madigan’s continued efforts to protect children by increasing awareness of recalled products. Madigan’s office works with retailers around the state and the Illinois Retail Merchants Association to ensure these products are removed from store shelves. Madigan also has partnered with the Illinois Hospital Association, the state Medical Society and pediatricians to enlist their help in spreading information to parents about potentially dangerous products that they should remove from their homes.
Last year, Madigan also worked to amend the Illinois Children’s Product Safety Act to expand the amount of time to 240 days that retailers are required to post recall notices for durable products, such as strollers, cribs, bassinets and play yards. Increasing that time period from 120 to 240 days ensures more shoppers will see the recall notices in stores. Also last year, a new amendment to the Illinois Lead Poisoning Act that Madigan helped implement took effect, requiring certain children’s products sold in the state to have a warning label if they contain even small amounts of lead.
Source: illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
