Number of children's products being recalled increased last year, report finds
A safety advocacy group's report reveals children's product recalls increased.
— -- The number of children's products that were recalled increased last year compared to the previous year, and also reached the highest level of any year since 2001 with the exception of 2004, according to a new report published by the nonprofit group Kids in Danger (KID).
KID's report analyzed recall data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for the year 2016, and found that last year there were a total of 76 children's products recalled, amounting to a total of over 66.8 million units of children's products.
The number of children's product recalls increased 12 percent in 2016 compared to 2015, according to the report. In addition, the number of children's products recalled last year was the highest in any year since 2001 except for 2004, when 150 million vending machine toys were recalled.
"We saw some large recalls -- two with 29 million units each -- as well as recalls that were delayed despite large numbers of incidents and injuries," Nancy Cowles, the executive director of KID said in a statement. "Sippy cups that grow mold and sicken children, strollers that lose wheels and injure both occupants and caregivers are just a few of the recalls involving large numbers of injuries this year."
The report also found that 2016 recalls were based upon a higher number of incidents, injuries, and deaths, amounting to a total of 4,842 incidents, 394 injuries, and seven deaths before recalls were issued.
While 32 percent of children's product recalls last year were nursery products, 2016 marked the first time in a decade that no cribs were recalled.
Finally, the report stated that many companies used social media to publicize a recall, finding that 60 percent of companies with a Facebook page used the site to warn consumers about a recall.
Cowles added, however, that "despite improvements in standards and social media use, some recalls are still happening too slow and too little is done to get the product out of homes."
"KID is making this our priority for 2017 and we hope other stakeholders, including CPSC, will as well," Cowles said.
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