Cookie dough at Nestlé plant tests positive for E. coli

A sample of raw cookie dough collected at a Nestlé plant in Danville, Va. has tested positive for E. coli O157:H7. The sample was taken last week, the Food and Drug Administration reported.

Earlier this month, Nestle recalled all its Toll House refrigerated cookie dough after it was suspected as the cause of a foodborne illness outbreak that so far has sickened 69 persons in 29 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Of those, 34 have been hospitalized and nine have developed hemolytic uremic syndrome, a serious complication.

The sample of contaminated Toll House refrigerated prepackaged dough was manufactured at the plant on Feb. 10, according to the FDA. In a statement, Nestlé said the sample that tested positive came from a 16-ounce Toll House refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough bar. The product had a “best before June 10, 2009” label.

E. coli O157:H7 has not been associated with eating raw cookie dough before, according to the CDC. The concern with eating raw dough is more commonly salmonella, which can be found in raw eggs. We wonder how the dough became contaminated with E. coli.

Inspection reports from Nestlé's Danville plant show that the company refused several times over the past five years to provide FDA inspectors with complaint logs, pest-control records and other information, the New York Times reported recently.

Inez Tenenbaum takes over at the CPSC

As far as we know, Inez Tenenbaum's first day on the job as chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission was quiet. Tomorrow will be a different story. In fact, it will be explosive.

In her first public appearance in her new role, Tenenbaum will oversee the agency's 10 A.M. event on fireworks safety. Part of the program includes demonstrating fireworks hazards on the National Mall.

As Tenenbaum starts to tackle the tough issues facing her agency—clarifying the Consumer Product Safety Inprovement Act and seeking relief for homeowners with toxic Chinese drywall—there may be more colorful displays to come.

GM reverses stance on liability claims

Caving under pressure from a dozen state attorneys general, GM agreed to assume responsibility for product liability claims filed after it emerges from bankruptcy as a new company, even those claims involving vehicles made by the old company.

Courts typically allow companies under bankruptcy protection to leave claims behind in bankruptcy and emerge with a clean slate, a precedent G.M. and the government were relying upon, the New York Times reported. Chrysler, which completed a government-backed restructuring this month, left both product liability claims and unwanted dealers with its old estate, now known as Old CarCo.

As we reported last week, concern had been expressed by at least one safety expert that an absence of liability claims would have a chilling effect on recalls because the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration uses death and injury data to scan for defect trends. "If the claims aren't filed, we lose an important defect surveillance tool," said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies.

The modification, outlined in court papers filed by GM late Friday, is a partial victory for consumer groups and attorneys general, the Washington Post reported. "Congress still needs to step in and do something for Chrysler victims," Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice and Democracy told the Post. "That bankruptcy is over. The only way for victims to get help is if there's a law that establishes it."

Recall expanded of beef contaminated with E. coli

Just in time to ruin your  holiday cookout, the JBS Swift Beef Company of Greeley, CO today expanded its June 24 beef recall to include 380,000 pounds of assorted beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7. The expanded recall comes as the result of an ongoing investigation into 24 illnesses in multiple states, 18 of which appear to be associated with the meat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced.

According to the earlier recall notice, the beef products were produced on April 21 and 22, 2009, and were shipped to distributors and retail establishments in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin. The FSIS has not yet released a list of retailers where the meat was sold.

The recalled products include intact cuts of beef typically used for steaks and roasts rather than ground beef. However, some of the larger cuts may have been made into ground beef by other companies. The recalled meat was shipped in boxes bearing the establishment number "EST. 969" inside the USDA mark of inspection as well as the identifying package date of "042109" and a time stamp ranging from "0618" to "1130." If the meat has been processed and repackaged it would no longer bear the establishment number "EST. 969." Concerned consumers should check with their retailer to be sure.

E. coli O157:H7 H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea, dehydration, and in the most severe cases, kidney failure. The very young, seniors and persons with weak immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

CPSC fines OKK Trading $665,000 for child safety infractions

A California company has been fined $665,000 for failing to comply with a 30-year ban on lead paint on toys and violating other federal child safety standards, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The penalty settlement with OKK Trading of Commerce, CA resolves allegations by the CPSC that the company knowingly imported and sold toys with paints that contained lead levels that exceeded legal limits as well as toys with small parts. The penalty also resolves allegations that the company knowingly imported and sold toys, games, rattles, pacifiers and art materials that violated the Federal Hazardous Substances Act.

Because of the safety infractions, OKK Trading has been required to make six recalls over the past two years— totaling almost 18,000 items—including the following:

• March 2009: 2,900 Baby Necessities pacifiers (choking hazard)
• Dec. 2008: 5,400 toy army figures (lead paint)
• Nov. 2008: 2,100 'Mini-Televisor' toys (lead paint)
• April 2008: 2,000 Interchange Robot toys (lead paint)
• Jan. 2008: 2,000 toy racing cars (lead paint)
• April 2007: 3,500 'Lovely Baby' and 'Happy Baby' dolls (choking hazard)

According to the CPSC, OKK Trading hasn't received any reports of incidents or injuries involving the products covered by the settlement and the company denies the CPSC's allegations that it knowingly violated the law.

Earlier this month, Mattel and its subsidiary, Fisher-Price, agreed to pay a $2.3 million civil penalty—the largest of its kind—for violating the federal lead paint ban.

And the rockets red glare ...

We’ve been mulling over some numbers lately, and they more or less come down to this: More and less.

We’re talking about fireworks. The American Pyrotechnics Association, an industry trade group, tracks injuries relative to sales. While use of fireworks doubled from 1997 to 2007, injuries per 100,000 pounds dropped 40 percent.

That’s good news, of course, but it doesn’t mean much to the 9,800 people who ended up in emergency rooms in 2007 because of fireworks, and it means even less to the 11 people who died.

As we close in on the Fourth of July holiday, when fireworks injuries peak, it’s a good idea to know both the laws for your state (five states ban all consumer fireworks; five more allow only sparklers) )
and the best ways to stay safe around all those incendiary devices.

We wondered whether there’s any way to tell whether one rocket is safer than another. So we called the American Fireworks Standards Laboratory, which tests about 85 percent of consumer fireworks sold in the U.S. (Yes, really tests; they pull samples from cases of product manufactured by their member companies and set them off in a lab in China.)

Products that meet safety standards get a certification sticker. The problem is you’ll never see it, because it goes on the shipping carton, not the retail packaging. So AFSL recommends you make sure that any fireworks you buy are from one of their members.

Recalls risky for tag sale buyers and sellers

A new sense of thrift is on the rise as house prices and bank balances fall. It seems to have prompted people to cash in their unwanted stuff. So it’s no surprise that, anecdotally anyway, there seem to be more garage, tag and stoop sales than ever.

Good for thrifty consumers on both sides of the cash box, you might say. True, but one caution for sellers: The same law that bars manufacturers from peddling a million lead-tainted toys applies to the tag-sale host selling just one. And it’s now illegal to sell any product that has been recalled.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is in charge of enforcing the new safety law, (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act) is offering buyers and sellers some guidance in the form of an illustrated booklet they can download.

Among the items that you cannot sell:

• Toys and other articles  intended  for  use  by  children, or any  furniture,  with  paint  or  other  surface  coatings  containing  lead  over  specified  amounts. 
• Products primarily intended for children age 12 or younger with lead content over a specific amount.
• Certain toys or child-care articles that contain any one of six prohibited chemicals known as phthalates.

The CPSC won’t be patrolling garage sales; a sense of responsibility should keep consumers from knowingly selling an item that could hurt someone, especially a child. So before you slap price stickers on the stash in your basement, check www.recalls.gov.

And if you’re shopping, we caution you not to buy a used crib, particularly one with drop sides or made before 1999. Also steer clear of car seats, play yards and any kids’ clothing with drawstrings.

Don't play it again, Sam's

Here's a really bad idea, as reported by our colleagues over at our sister blog, the Consumerist. Sam's Club in Salisbury, Maryland is enticing kids to their pharmacy (hmmm  ... why?) with pill bottles filled with candy. Never mind that parents have spent years teaching their little ones never to touch medicine. Now, in one turn of the "child-safe" top all that is for naught, because your kids think that what's inside is really, really yummy.

One commenter to the Consumerist post remembered this Public Service Announcement from the 1980s, now available on YouTube.

This is just the latest example of lousy marketing to kids. Remember edible Legos?

Report: Automaker bankruptcies will have a chilling effect on recalls

A new report predicts that a loophole created by the bankruptcies of General Motors and Chrysler will make it possible for the companies to avoid issuing recalls of defective cars built prior to the filings. The research firm posits that vehicles with safety defects sold before the bankruptcies will continue to cause deaths and injuries long after the companies emerge as new entities.

The report, released by Safety Research & Strategies, examines the consequences of a provision in the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies that allows the automakers to shed liability for the vehicles built pre-bankruptcy. "Based on data provided by both automakers to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 3,400 Americans will be injured or killed by a defective Chrysler or GM vehicle during the first year of the post-bankruptcy era," the report states.

Our Cars Blog has been following the liability issue after questions were raised about whether standard consumer protections would apply to owners of GM and Chrysler vehicles. In their bankruptcy proceedings, both companies sought protection from pending and future liability claims against their products manufactured before their Chapter 11 filings.

Because NHTSA uses death and injury data to scan for defect trends, the absence of such claims might decrease the number of recalls and remedies conducted by the automakers after their bankruptcies. "If the claims aren't filed, we lose an important defect surveillance tool," said Sean Kane, president of Safety Research & Strategies. "And if the companies bear no liability for deaths and injuries caused by the uncorrected defects, what incentive do they have to recall?"

Between the third quarter of 2003 and the fourth quarter of 2008, Chrysler fielded 3,497 death and injury claims; GM fielded 15,284, according to the report. These represent an annual average of 636 and 2,779 casualties (individual deaths and injuries) respectively. With more than 40 million vehicles in the U.S. fleet, the two companies accounted for 47 percent of all claims filed against auto manufacturers during that time period. Yet, GM and Chrysler represent only 38 percent of the market share

From 2004 to 2008, Chrysler issued 109 recalls, affecting 11.4 million vehicles; GM launched 129 recalls, affecting 19 million vehicles. "Combined, GM and Chrysler have a disproportionate share of the claims," said Kane. "And there is every reason to conclude that the injury and death rates will continue. But the claims will disappear and that will impact the rate of GM and Chrysler recalls and public safety in the future."

The report features a state-by-state breakdown of Chrysler and GM death and injury claims: Texas, California, Florida, Ohio and New York lead the nation.

Black & Decker recalls 670,000 coffeemakers because of burn hazard

After getting at least 10 reports of second-degree burns, Black & Decker today recalled 670,000 "Spacemaker" coffeemakers in the U.S. and Canada because the brew basket can shift out of alignment causing hot water to overflow. The company has received 282 reports of hot water overflowing including the burn incidents, according to the U.S. and Canadian recall notices.

The Spacemaker coffeemaker has an under-cabinet mount, programmable digital clock/timer, removable water reservoir, and either a 12-cup glass carafe or an 8-cup thermal carafe. Only model numbers ODC440, ODC440B, ODC450 and ODC460 are included in the recall. The model number is on the back of the coffeemaker.

Made in China, the coffeemakers were sold at major retailers nationwide, including K-Mart, Kohl’s, Target, Walmart, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Amazon.com, from March 2006 through March 2009 for between $60 and $80. In Canada, they were also sold at Canadian Tire, Home Hardware, London Drugs, Sears Canada and Zellers.

The distributor, Applica Consumer Products of Miramar, Fla. is asking consumers to stop using the coffeemakers and contact the company for a free replacement brew basket. Call Applica toll-free at (866) 668-4442 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday or visit the firm's Web site at www.acprecall.com.