Why a warning and not a recall on “My Baby Soother” pacifiers?

Earlier this week, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued an unusual announcement when it urged parents and caregivers to stop using “My Baby Soother” pacifiers due to a choking hazard.  The pacifiers, distributed by T & L Trading of Brooklyn, NY, fail to meet federal safety standards because the nipples can separate from the base easily, posing a choking hazard to infants and toddlers. But, surprisingly, T &L Trading has refused to recall these pacifiers, despite the fact they are in violation of the law. 
 
About 16,500 “My Baby Soother” pacifiers were sold at grocery stores, delis, and discount stores in the New York City area from August 2007 to July 2009.  In lieu of a recall notice, the CPSC issued a press release warning consumers to immediately take the recalled pacifiers away from infants and toddlers and discard them. They also advised distributors and retailers to stop selling them. 
 
Our Take:  The CPSC must move quickly to force T & L Trading to recall this product. Once a product is  deemed an official recall, the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act makes it illegal to be sold.  That will help to get any unsafe pacifiers off store shelves. The terms of the recall should require T & L to contact each distributor and retailer that sold the pacifiers and to post notices to alert any consumers who bought them. And as opposed to the CPSC’s advice to throw the pacifiers away, consumers should send them back to the company (T & L Trading, 17 Meserole St., Brooklyn, NY 11206-1901) and demand their money back as well as compensation for mailing costs.  Although the pacifiers cost only one dollar, no company should profit from selling products that violate federal safety regulations.—Don Mays