Federal action to ensure safety of nanotechnology remains elusive

Despite the growing use of nanoengineered materials in consumer products, recent indications from the Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission suggest that neither agency is prepared to act any time soon to regulate nanoscale ingredients. Increasingly, manufacturers are developing products with substances like carbon nanotubes, engineered at the nanometer scale to have dramatic new chemical and physical properties. These tiny new substances, some 100,000 times smaller than the width of a human hair, can be more reactive, more toxic, and more accessible to critical organs like the brain than their larger counterparts. 

Last month, nearly two years after its first public meeting on the subject, the FDA hosted another meeting, requesting more feedback about whether and how it should develop guidance for manufacturers on testing to assess unique risks posed by materials manipulated at the molecular level. Such guidance was recommended by the FDA Task Force on Nanotechnology in its 2007 report. The FDA focused its request on nanoscale applications within its jurisdiction to regulate foods, drugs, personal care products and medical devices.

Consumers Union staff scientists Carolyn Cairns and Michael Hansen called for mandatory safety testing and product labeling for drugs, cosmetics, foods, and dietary supplements. Speaking in the session on nanomaterials in foods, Hansen told the audience "we want the FDA to recognize that [engineered nanoscale materials] have the potential for structure-dependent health effects that are uniquely different than their larger counterparts and raise toxicity questions."

NHTSA steps up investigation of tire valves … but not enough

Late last month the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) upgraded its ongoing investigation into suspected defective tire valves imported by Dill Air Controls Products to what it calls an Engineering Analysis. Should the agency’s analysis find that Dill tire valves are indeed defective, the result could be a massive recall of approximately 23.5 million tire valves installed from August 2006 through July 2007.

NHTSA originally opened an investigation as a Preliminary Evaluation on May 15 following the fatal rollover crash of a 1998 Ford Explorer that allegedly was the result of a faulty Dill tire valve. On September 8, according to NHTSA, another serious crash involving a 2001 Toyota Sienna appeared "to be related to a cracked and leaking Dill tire valve.” To date, there have been more than 4,700 complaints filed with NHTSA’s Office of Defects Investigations regarding faulty Dill valves.  And a vehicle inspection program conducted by the major tire retailer Discount Tire from April through June 2008, uncovered approximately 23,000 defective Dill valves. 

According to reports filed with NHTSA, Dill imported valve stems from a manufacturer in China, Shanghai Baolong/ Topseal Automotive that lacked adequate ozone protection, which can cause the rubber to crack prematurely.  Affected valves exhibit visible cracks shortly after being installed.  Over eight to 14 months of use, the cracks can grow large enough to cause air leakage.  Driving on under-inflated tires can cause tire damage and, eventually, cause the tires to fail or blow out.

Tech International, an importer of tire valves made by the same Chinese company that makes Dill tire valves, has already recalled some 6 million defective valve stems that it distributed. To date, Dill has not issued a recall of the tire valves, although it has posted advisories on its web site. Discount Tire stores that sold Dill valves from August 1, 2006 through July 31, 2007 sent letters to their customers warning them of the problem.  We hope that other retailers who have sold the valves act as responsibly.

Problem could affect 2007 Fords
Based on analysis of claims filed with NHTSA, Sean Kane, President of Safety Research Strategies said, “I suspect that many 2007 model year Fords may have had the defective valve stems installed as original equipment.”  He recently sent a letter to NHTSA requesting that the agency immediately open a defect investigation on valve stems used as original equipment on Ford vehicles.

In our own employee parking lot, finding a defective valve stem on a ’07 Ford was not hard.  Of the three cars inspected, we found one Ford Focus that had obvious cracks in at least one valve stem (See photo).  At our recommendation, the owner brought his car in for service and had all four valve stems replaced.   

We think NHTSA should open a defect investigation on valve stems used on Fords.  And that they should endeavor to identify other makers of vehicles that may have used valve stems manufactured by Shanghai Baolong as original equipment.  The agency's delay is dangerous and potentially puts many drivers at risk. 

Clearing the shelves of lead-tainted toys

The recent trouble in toyland, punctuated by massive recalls of lead-tainted toys, will soon become a problem of the past.  In a major victory for consumers the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, signed into law on August 14th, sets new, tougher standards for lead in children's products. Current regulations limit the permissible level of lead in paint and surface coatings to no more than 600 parts per million (ppm).  But there are no limits set for lead in vinyl, composite metals, or other materials used in the manufacture of children's products.

That changes on February 10th of next year. On that date, any children's product on the market that contains more than 600 ppm of accessible lead will be considered a banned hazardous substance and will be subject to immediate recall. The CPSC says the new law applies to all children's products regardless of when they were manufactured.

Our previous concerns about lead in children's lunch boxes and two Fisher-Price toy blood pressure cuffs, which slipped through regulatory loopholes, have been addressed by these new standards.    

The lead limit for children's products gets even tighter in the future.  In August 2009, the limit will be lowered to 300 ppm and in three years it will be reduced even further to 100 ppm, if technologically feasible.  Since trace amounts of lead are ever-present in our environment, it's difficult to reduce lead levels to zero, but these new limits will make children’s products much safer than they are now. 

Additionally, the new law will reduce the limit for lead in paint from 600 ppm to 90 pp, effective August 14, 2009. 

COOL new food labels display country of origin

Going grocery shopping today? You may notice a change in your supermarket’s meat aisle. As of September 30, 2008, federal law requires fresh meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables, peanuts and certain nuts to display a label that tells you the country of origin (COOL) of the product.

Mandatory COOL for meats, fish, produce, and peanuts became law in the U.S. in 2002, but industry pressured Congress to delay implementation for everything but seafood until now.

As reported on our Health blog, COOL's full implementation is a big step forward for food safety-conscious people. A Consumer Reports poll released last year found that 92 percent of Americans agree that imported foods should be labeled by their country of origin.

"This is a long-awaited change and we think it will be a great benefit for consumers," said Jean Halloran, Director of Food Policy Initiatives for Consumers Union, nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports. "If a food safety problem is identified in a particular imported product, as happened with jalapeño and serrano peppers from Mexico earlier this year, then consumers will be able to avoid that product."

"On the other hand," Halloran adds. "Some people like to buy certain imported products, like New Zealand lamb or Holland tomatoes. Still others just want to buy local produce. Either way, the new labels will give consumers important new information."

There are exemptions, however, which concern Consumers Union. Meat, poultry, and fish sold in small markets don’t have to be labeled, nor do processed foods such as imported ham or roasted peanuts, or mixtures, such as frozen vegetables or trail mix. Here's a guide to the new rules that you can print out and take to the supermarket.

Better tracking needed to find sources of foodborne illnesses

Following a summer in which almost 1,500 people in 43 states were sickened in a foodborne illness outbreak that implicated first tomatoes and then peppers, it was with great interest that we read a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) that analyzed how Canada, Japan and countries in the EU ensure the safety of food imports and respond to foodborne illness.

The GAO found that the countries they examined used a more comprehensive approach to guarantee the safety of imported food. In brief, the entire process of importing food is monitored from "farm to table." The food safety laws in these countries cover every step of the production process, from how it was grown or raised to how the food was processed to when it lands on the consumer's table. The GAO report noted that, as a result, residents of the countries it studied had more confidence in their food safety systems.

According to the GAO’s study, the countries reported that three elements of their food-safety systems were critical to helping them respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness:

1. Traceback procedures that allow industry and government officials to quickly track food products to minimize harm to consumers and the impact on business.
2. Cooperative arrangements between government veterinarians and public health officials to document the names of suppliers and customers as well as the date of delivery.
3. Mandatory authority to recall a product from the market.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for ensuring the safety of roughly 80 percent of the U.S. food supply, including $417 billion worth of domestic food and $49 billion in imported food annually so it's important that the agency beefs up its food-safety oversight.

Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, believes that the U.S. should adopt specific food-safety guidelines from the EU model. For example, the U.S. inspects only two percent of its seafood, whereas the EU examines 20 to 50 percent of all seafood imported, according to Jean Halloran, CU's director of food-policy initiatives. She said that efforts in the U.S.  to inspect imported food are inadequate.

While there is no simple solution to food safety, CU recommends that the government pass food-safety legislation with the following provisions:

• Traceability system for high-risk produce and production and handling standards.
• Sufficient funding so the FDA can do its job and fulfill its safety mission. Since 2004 the agency has lost nearly a third of its food safety and field staffers, and many more are expected to retire soon.
• More inspections of food imports. Currently less than one percent of food is inspected by the FDA, that's clearly not enough.
• Regular, mandatory FDA inspection of all food production facilities, both foreign and domestic.  Mandatory certification by independent certifiers that processing facilities are following FDA-approved safe handling procedures.
• Labeling of new and controversial food technologies on our shelves, such as cloned food, genetically engineered food and nanotech ingredients. Consumers should be allowed to make informed choices when they're buying food for their families.
• Mandatory recall authority for FDA and mandatory identification of outlets that sell recalled food. There is no federal requirement to publicize the names of grocery stores, restaurants, and schools that might be selling or using recalled food, leaving consumers at a loss to protect themselves.

More children sickened in China as dairy crisis widens

Over the weekend, the number of children sickened by tainted formula in China grew exponentially. Recent news reports put the number at more than 50,000 children and the Wall Street Journal reported that of those, nearly 13,000 had been hospitalized with kidney problems, 104 of them with "severe" symptoms. Four children have died.

The issue is milk-based formula that has been contaminated with the chemical melamine. According to a report in the New York Times, the milk used in the formula was first watered down and then supplemented with melamine, which is high in nitrogen, to artificially boost the apparent protein content. Milk from at least 22 of the country's largest dairies has been implicated in the scheme and a number of officials have been forced to resign in the scandal. Million of gallons of milk and some related dairy products have been recalled.

The affected babies have problems with their kidneys including kidney stones and, in the most serious cases, kidney failure.  Parents across China are flocking to clinics to have their infants tested for damage that may have occurred in babies who drank the contaminated milk over a period of time, the New York Times reported.

In the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration is issuing periodic reports to reassure consumers that there has been no known threat of contamination in infant formula approved to be sold in this country. However, the agency is advising consumers not to purchase infant formula manufactured in China from Internet sites or other sources. 

At the same time, the FDA—in conjunction with state and local officials—has begun a nation-wide investigation to check Asian markets for Chinese-manufactured infant formula that may have been brought into the United States. In particular, this effort focuses on areas of the country with large Chinese communities, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and New York. To date, investigators have visited more than 1,000 retail markets and have not found Chinese infant formula on shelves in these markets. The FDA is also testing food imports with milk-derived ingredients.

On Sunday, the Associated Press reported that Hong Kong's two main supermarket chains removed milk powder made by Swiss food giant Nestle from their shelves after a newspaper reported that samples contained melamine. And Starbucks franchises in China have switched to soy milk.   

The latest in a series of tainted products
Sadly, this tragedy is just the most recent egregious example of the unscrupulous business practices that are pervasive in many Chinese factories.  In case after case, adulteration of ingredients, components, or other raw materials has been done secretly at factories as a way of cutting costs.  The result has been products delivered to the marketplace—here and abroad—that have sickened or injured consumers.      

Last year, many U.S. pet owners faced a heartbreaking crisis when thousands of pets became sick, or died, from eating pet food imported from China that had been laced with melamine.

In June 2007, The FDA found the poisonous chemical diethylene glycol (DEG) in certain toothpastes imported from China.  Also known as "diglycol," DEG is used in antifreeze and as a solvent. This chemical had previously been found in cough syrup sold in Panama where it killed scores of people.

That same month, the FDA banned imported farm-raised Chinese shrimp, eel, catfish, and basa because of persistent contamination problems with banned antibiotics or anti-fungal agents.  The FDA now conducts a detain-and-test program before they will release those fish to the US market.

In August 2007, 255,000 light-truck tires made in China were recalled because the gum strip between the steel belts that was in the original design had either been left out or was insufficient. The result—tires failed catastrophically because the tread and/or belts separated.

In November 2007, 4.2 million sets of the popular arts and crafts toy Aqua Dots were recalled because a chemical substitution was made for the glue that was supposed to have been used.  When ingested, that chemical forms into GHB, the banned, so-called date rape drug.

And who can forget last year's series of toy recalls including several by toy giant Mattel whose Chinese factories were provided lead-laden paint labeled as lead free.

Early this year doses of Chinese-made heparin, a popular blood thinner used in dialysis and surgery, were found to be contaminated. The FDA has linked the tainted drug to a number of deaths and hundreds of severe allergic reactions.

Has "Made in China" become a warning label?  Who can protect American consumers from the unscrupulous foreign business practices that imperil our health and safety?  Our government watchdog agencies must be better equipped to stop unsafe imports from crossing our borders. The FDA inspects only about one percent of our food imports and the CPSC has staff at only a handful of our more than 300 ports of entry. That's not good enough for consumers.

New science on BPA meets outdated analysis at FDA

Earlier this week, as scientists released results of new research linking diabetes and heart disease in humans to urine levels of a chemical found in plastic, the Food and Drug Administration continued to say that the chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), is safe. Such conflicting information gives little guidance to consumers.

On Tuesday, the FDA held a public meeting at which experts criticized the federal agency's assessment as outdated and inappropriate. At the same time, the results of the first major epidemiologic study to examine the health effects of BPA—a chemical widely used in  food and beverage can linings, as well as in hard clear plastic bottles and food-storage containers—were being released, suggesting harmful health effects from even common, low-dose exposures.

The new study, published in the Sept. 17, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, was based on analysis conducted at the universities of Essex and Plymouth in the U.K. and at the University of Iowa. Scientists analyzed U.S. government data (collected from 2002-2004) on urine samples of 1,455 Americans 18 to 74. They found that higher urinary concentrations of BPA were associated with increased prevalence of not only diabetes and heart disease, but of related liver enzyme abnormalities as well. The JAMA researchers note that their results do not prove causation, and independent follow-up studies are needed, but they come in the wake of evidence from animal studies suggesting adverse health effects from even low-dose exposures.

Since Consumer Reports first warned about BPA in baby bottles in 1999, evidence of BPA’s toxic potential has continued to build. In Consumers Union’s statement for the FDA meeting, Urvashi Rangan, Ph.D., Senior Scientist and Policy Analyst, repeated calls for a more scientifically sound assessment and urged the FDA to eliminate BPA in food and beverage containers.

“The safety of BPA, at current exposure levels in the U.S. population, has not been demonstrated and the government is giving consumers contradictory messages about the level of concern,” said Dr. Rangan. “BPA is metabolized quickly and yet constant, elevated levels are circulating in most Americans. This indicates that consumers are constantly exposed to BPA.”

“A margin of safety exists that is adequate to protect consumers, including infants and children, at the current levels of exposure,” Laura Tarantino, a senior Food and Drug Administration scientist, told the expert panel on Tuesday, in remarks reported by the Associated Press.

But in tests conducted for Consumer Reports magazine, BPA has been found leaching from baby bottles and certain types of large containers of bottled water. Studies by other groups have reported elevated levels in canned foods and infant formula.

And the authors of the just-released JAMA study point out that exposure to BPA among the general U.S. population is likely to exceed limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency for the "reference dose," or the daily exposure that is not likely to cause harmful effects.

What You Can Do
While studies are under way, if you’re concerned about BPA, here’s what you can do:

• Identify which containers might have the chemical. Polycarbonate is usually clear rather than cloudy, although it may be colored. If the container carries a recycling code, it will be marked with the number 7 or the letters “PC,” or both. No. 7 bottles made with BPA-free polyethersulfone (PES) won’t have the PC marking. Other BPA-free plastic alternatives include polyethylene, which may be marked with recycling codes 1 (PET) or 2 (HDPE), and polypropylene, 5 (PP).
• For baby bottles, glass or BPA-free plastics such as polyethylene are the safest choices, as Consumer Reports has advised in the past.
• For those who reuse water bottles frequently and want to avoid BPA, consider polyethylene, stainless steel, or aluminum with BPA-free liners.
• More information on this topic can be found at Greener Choices. 

200,000 bassinets in recent recall from Graco and Disney

Two weeks after a number of top retailers stopped selling Simplicity bassinets that had been implicated in the deaths of two infants, the Graco company has issued a notice on its Web site warning consumers about 17 Simplicity-made bassinet models that carry the Graco logo. The deaths of babies in Kansas and Missouri resulted when they became entrapped between metal bars of the bassinet.

The Graco action is the latest twist in a product-safety issue that has been complicated by the fact that Simplicity has gone out of business. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says that SFCA Inc., the company that owns Simplicity's assets, has refused to cooperate with the government and recall the bassinet. Because SFCA would not agree to a voluntary recall, the CPSC  issued a safety alert on August 28 asking parents not to use the 3-in-1 and 4-in-1 convertible "close-sleeper/bedside sleeper" Simplicity bassinets. The CPSC also helped persuade a growing list of retailers—including some of the nation's largest—to pull the Simplicity bassinet from its shelves.

Today the CPSC issued another alert telling consumers that both the Graco bassinet and one with a Winnie the Pooh motif are included in the batch of 900,000 bassinets referenced in the earlier alert. But the Chicago Tribune is reporting today that Graco told the CPSC on August 28 that some of the recalled bassinets carried its brand name. The newspaper also pointed out that the CPSC did not issue an immediate recall. And today's carefully worded notice from the CPSC was not characterized as a recall.

According to the CPSC, the Simplicity bassinets with the Graco logo were sold between 2001 and 2004. The Simplicity bassinets with the Winnie the Pooh motif were sold between 2002 and 2008.

The CPSC is advising owners of the bassinets to stop using them immediately and to return them to the place of purchase for a refund or store credit. Both Simplicity and Graco have updated lists of affected model numbers on their Web sites.

Crib recalls highlight lack of durability standards

You’d think that all cribs would provide a safe and comfortable environment for babies. But over the last three years, there have been more than one and a half million full-sized cribs recalled, many due to failures of the hardware or of the wooden slats and spindles. Those structural failures can result in serious strangulation, entrapment and fall hazards. The defects contribute to the more than 11,000 serious crib and mattress-related injuries each year and an annual average of 32 fatalities for children under five. There are far more deaths associated with cribs and mattresses than with any other type of nursery product and 25 percent of those deaths resulted from the use of cribs with broken or missing components.

Although cribs are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, there are no federally mandated durability test requirements. ASTM-International, a standard-setting organization, publishes a more comprehensive standard with which most manufacturers voluntarily comply. However, while the ASTM standard requires durability testing of the mattress supports and the crib side rails, it does not require testing for the strength of the spindles or slats or for the failure or loosening of drop-side hardware that can come as a result of repeated use. ASTM has been working on improving its standard to include tests for structural integrity of the crib slats and hardware, but has little to show for its many years of work on this problem.

The consequences of weak standards? Recalls, including the largest crib recall in history. Last year, Simplicity recalled more than one million cribs because of drop-side failures resulting from both the hardware and crib design. This year Babies ‘R’ Us recalled 320,000 of its Jardine cribs because the slats and spindles could break too easily. Both the Simplicity and Jardine cribs met the federal regulations and the current ASTM safety and performance standards for cribs, which as we noted above, do not go far enough.

Impatient with ASTM’s lack of progress, Toys ‘R’ Us, the owner of Babies ‘R’ Us, has just established its own standards for crib durability. Beginning October 1, an outside laboratory will be testing for structural integrity employing the stronger test methods currently used in Europe and Canada. Cribs supplied to Babies ‘R’ Us retailers must meet certain design and material requirements for the wooden slats and spindles.

The U.S. Senate has also expressed concern about the lack of adequate durability test requirements.  Earlier this summer, the Senate Committee on Financial Services and General Government included a measure in a funding bill directing the CPSC to consider promulgating regulations that require cribs to be durability-tested.  Reviewing and updating of the federal crib standard is required under the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and we hope that the CPSC makes a new, stronger crib safety standard—with the most comprehensive durability standards—one of its immediate priorities.

In addition, we offer this advice to consumers:

• Do not buy or use cribs made before 2000. They do not meet even today’s lenient safety standards.
• If you are thinking about buying a model sold at  Toys ‘R’ Us,  you might want to consider waiting until after October when new standards take effect.
• Buy cribs that are certified by the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association (JPMA) to meet ASTM standards. Although this is no guarantee of safety, we have more confidence in cribs that have JPMA certification labels.
• If you are not mechanically skilled, have an expert assemble your crib. Make sure assembly instructions are followed exactly.
• Check for and tighten any loose hardware on a monthly basis. And do not use any crib with broken or missing hardware or components.
• Make sure the mattress fits snugly inside the crib with no gaps around its perimeter in which a baby can get trapped.
• Do not use any soft bedding in a crib including bumper pads, comforters, pillows, sleep positioners, and so on. They can create a suffocation hazard.
• Fill out and mail in product registration cards. That way, a company will be able to contact you directly in the event of a recall.
• Read our latest report on cribs.

David Kelly replaces Nicole Nason as top NHTSA administrator

The White House has named David Kelly to be acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, replacing Nicole Nason, who is leaving for an as yet undisclosed job in the private sector.

Kelly was previously chief of staff to Nason, who leaves after serving a little more than two years as head of the government's primary auto safety agency. Before joining NHTSA, Kelly was with the National Safety Council, serving as a program manager and director of the NSC's air bag and seat belt safety campaign.

Kelly will have at least two big issues to resolve as the Bush Administration winds down in the coming months.

The first is a proposed 4.5 percent annual increase in fuel efficiency standards for the 2011 through 2015 model years. NHTSA issued the proposal in April. Automakers have called the proposed increases too ambitious, but many members of Congress have said they don't go far enough.

NHTSA must also complete work on toughening automobile roof crush standards by October 1, a set of rules that has not been revised since 1973.   

Nason, who was a lobbyist for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. before joining the government, has had an uneven tenure as head of the auto safety agency.

Under Nason, the agency adopted new regulations to improve child seat ratings and to require seat belts on some smaller school buses. The agency also recalled hundreds of thousands of Chinese tires over concerns the steel belts could separate and cause a crash.   

In addition, the agency strengthened its new car crash test standards during Nason's tenure. Before the changes most vehicles were able to achieve top ratings, which critics say rendered the test results all but useless for consumers.   

But Nason was also responsible for a bizarre policy that effectively forbade anyone at the agency to talk to the media on the record except herself, including the NHTSA Office of Communications. Because of that policy, many of the government's leading auto safety experts have been unable to talk directly to the media on issues within their area of expertise.   

David Champion, Senior Director of auto testing for Consumer Reports, says he hopes the new NHTSA director will keep "the safety of the American motorist foremost and understands vehicle dynamics."

"Cars are a huge compromise," says Champion. "You change one aspect and it can reduce other factors." For example, he said, "With the push for a stronger roof crush standard, we do not want manufacturers to design bigger and wider roof pillars as this will compromise visibility, reducing safety in everyday driving. Currently there is no visibility standard."

Read more about car safety on our Cars blog.

Federal agencies at odds over artificial turf recommendations

In June, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a health advisory that raised concern about the safety of certain artificial-turf fields. The advisory was based on a study from two New Jersey agencies. After analyzing a small sampling of fields and commercial products, the state's researchers found that older fields that are made of nylon or nylon/polyethylene blend fibers can contain levels of lead that pose a potential public health hazard.  Lead chromate is found in the pigment that's used to color some turf surfaces green. Although the CDC says the immediate risk for harmful lead exposure from new fields is low, lead dust released as the artificial turf ages and weathers could then be ingested or inhaled raising the risk of harmful exposure.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) recently weighed in on the issue and released a controversial report  that analyzed synthetic turf  “grass blades” and assessed the total lead content and risk of exposure to the toxin. The title of a CPSC press release drawing attention to the report reads: “CPSC Staff Finds Synthetic Turf Fields OK to Install, OK to Play On.” But in what seems to be a contradiction, the commission also said that “although this evaluation found no harmful lead levels, CPSC staff is asking that voluntary standards be developed for synthetic turf to preclude use of lead in future products.” The agency also advised that young children should wash their hands after playing outside, especially before eating.

Congress quickly challenged the report. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) sent a letter to Acting CPSC Chairman Nancy Nord criticizing what appears to be flawed test methodology and the use of less-than-adequate rationale to conclude that children are safe from exposure to lead when playing on artificial turf fields. DeLauro took issue with the report on several points:

• The CPSC studied samples from only eight fields out of a total of some 3,500 synthetic fields currently in use. The sampling was too limited to give a good representation of the lead levels in synthetic fields across the nation.
• There are unexplained gaps and wide variability in the data provided.
• The study was limited to lead in synthetic "grass blades” and did not include analysis of  “crumb rubber” used in the fields. There was no apparent analysis for other toxic chemicals that have been found in crumb rubber.
• The report failed to give adequate analysis of why the oldest field tested (installed in 1999) was associated with the highest estimated daily ingestion of lead.

We share those concerns and have a few of our own:

• We are concerned that the study didn’t analyze enough samples from older fields. Only two samples were from fields more than five years old. The CPSC staff acknowledged in the press release on the study that some conditions such as age, weathering, exposure to sunlight, and wear and tear might change the amount of lead that could be released from the turf. And since the oldest field in their study showed the highest exposure to lead, we think they should have focused their testing on older fields before categorically giving them all a clean bill of health.
• The total lead content of the grass blades tested ranged from “none detected” to 9,600 parts per million (ppm). Ten of 26 samples tested far exceeded the current 600 ppm legal limit that applies to lead in paint and that limit will be significantly reduced as a result of the 2008 Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Shouldn't the fields that our children play on meet the same standards?
• The CPSC study did not take into account exposure to lead from inhalation or direct ingestion of dust from the synthetic field. The CDC advisory pointed to this hazard.
• We question some of the assumptions the CPSC made about how to measure ingestion levels.
• The American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that there is no safe level of lead exposure. Yet, the CPSC’s conclusions express risk in terms of what they have established as harmful levels. We think their analysis and conclusions should be consistent with those of the medical community. They should take into account that athletic fields are not the only source of exposure to lead and that it's important to eliminate avoidable sources of exposure.
• And although environmental issues are not under the CPSC’s purview, we are concerned that lead dust liberated from artificial playing fields may leach into soil and enter nearby waterways. This needs to be studied by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Should the CPSC classify artificial turf as a product primarily intended for children age12 and under, it would be subject to new federal legislation that would set strict limits on the amount of lead it can contain.  If mandatory regulations are not imposed, voluntary standards may suffice.  ASTM-International  has begun work writing a new voluntary standard for specifying the maximum lead content in synthetic turf fibers. 

We are not advocating tearing up artificial turf fields, but we do think field managers, coaches, school officials and parents should follow the “Taking precautions” advice we gave in our June 19 blog posting. And that the CPSC, CDC, and EPA should conduct a more thorough study to adequately assess all the risks associated with artificial playing fields.

CPSC fines clothing companies for failing to follow drawstring guidelines

Some children's clothing makers and retailers can't seem to grasp the fact that drawstrings on kids' clothes are a serious choking hazard, particularly when they go around the necks or hoods of jackets or sweatshirts.

More than a dozen years ago the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued guidelines warning about the potential strangulation hazard of drawstrings on children's jackets, sweatshirts and other outerwear garments, but for some reason these garments are still being recalled on a regular basis.

The latest round of recalls occurred earlier this month and included several thousand children's hooded sweatshirts and jackets sold by TJ Maxx, Marshalls and other major retailers. The CPSC says the makers of the clothing voluntarily recalled the items. The manufacturers were Raw Blue Sportswear of Moonachie, NJ; Request Jeans of New York; and Kids with Character, also of New York.

Interestingly, the CPSC released this latest round of recalls on the very same day it announced that nine different firms had agreed to pay a total of $355,000 in civil penalties for knowingly failing to report to the CPSC immediately, as required by federal law, that their children’s hooded sweatshirts, jackets or sweaters were sold with—you guessed it—drawstrings at the hood and neck.

From January 1985 through January 1999, the CPSC received reports of 22 deaths and 48 nonfatal incidents involving entanglement of children’s clothing drawstrings. Although the standard is voluntary, the agency has recently been enforcing the drawstring guidelines by seeking a recall of any clothes that fail to comply. "This is something the agency watches for and recalls when we find it, because the risk of strangulation is very real," CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese told us earlier, following another large drawstring-related recall of children's clothes.

The guidelines highlighting the strangulation dangers have been on the books for more than 12 years now, so we're not sure why so many children's clothing manufacturers and retailers are still violating them.

It would be nice if this latest round of civil penalties helped convince everyone in the children's clothing industry to stop making and selling products with drawstings around the head and neck altogether. If not, it might be time for the government to adopt mandatory guidelines for drawstrings in children's outerwear.

In the meantime, parents need to be extra vigilant when buying sweatshirts, jackets and other outerwear garments for their kids.

The CPSC recommends that parents or caregivers inspect their children's clothing and completely remove the hood and neck drawstrings from all upper outerwear, including jackets and sweatshirts, sized 2T to 12. The CPSC's technical staff has concluded that merely shortening the drawstrings may still present a strangulation hazard. The agency also recommends that consumers purchase children’s outerwear that has alternative closures, such as snaps, buttons, Velcro and elastic.

Parents can also help by reporting the sale of any children's drawstring items to the CPSC, with such details as store, brand name, manufacturer, size and where it was made. Also notify the store manager and company—and comment on this blog as well. Retailers must do a better job making sure they are not stocking their shelves with this type of clothing.

The latest recalls:

• 5,740 hooded sweatshirts by Raw Blue Sportswear, of Moonachie, N.J.
• 1,200 drawstring hoodies by Request Jeans, of New York, N.Y.
• 1,200 BongoCheetah girls jackets by Kids with Character of New York, N.Y.
  

 

President signs landmark product safety bill into law

This morning President Bush signed landmark product safety reform legislation into law. Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, teamed up with a broad coalition of consumer, public interest and scientific groups to help push the critical new law through Congress and, after over a year of fighting, convinced President Bush to sign the strongest legislation possible.

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 marks the most significant overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission since that agency was established in the 1970s.

The groundbreaking new law will make consumer products safer by requiring that toys and infant products be tested before they are sold and by banning lead and phthalates in toys. The bill will also require the CPSC to create a publicly accessible consumer product safety complaint database, give the CPSC the resources it needs to better protect the public, significantly increase the limit on civil penalties that CPSC can assess against violators of safety laws, and  protect whistleblowers who report product safety defects.

“This long-overdue law gives the CPSC the shot in the arm that it desperately needs,” says Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel with Consumers Union.  “It is now up to the CPSC to use the tools given to it by this law, and restore the confidence of consumers in the products on store shelves.”

Among the the specific changes called for in the new law:

• Lead will be essentially eliminated from all children’s products.
• Toys and other children’s products will be required to be tested for safety before they are sold.
• Toxic phthalates will be banned from children's products.
• CPSC will receive substantial increases in its resources including its budget, staffing levels, computer resources and its various authorities to conduct recalls and take other actions.
• CPSC will have the authority to levy more significant civil penalties against violators of its safety regulations, which will help deter wrongdoing.
• The CPSC will be restored to five commissioners but quorum will be immediately restored with the two current commissioners in power.
• State Attorneys General will have the necessary authority to enforce product safety laws.
• Consumers will have access to a public database to report and learn about hazards posed by unsafe products.
• Whistleblowers will be granted important protections.

“This Act is the legacy of the countless children, including Danny Keysar, whose parents founded Kids In Danger, who have been killed or injured by unsafe children's products and toys,” says Nancy Cowles, executive director of Kids In Danger. “It is to honor their memories that we must now undertake the implementation of this landmark measure.”

A key portion of the legislation, dealing with the safety of juvenile products such as cribs, high chairs and strollers, is named in Danny Keysar’s honor. Ten years ago, Danny was strangled to death at his licensed daycare facility when a portable crib collapsed, trapping his neck in the V of the folded rails. He was 16 months old.

Other groups involved in the broad coalition that was instrumental in pushing through the legislation include the Consumer Federation of America, Public Citizen's Congress Watch, U.S. PIRG's Consumer Program, the National Research Center for Women and Families, and the Scientific Integrity Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Although the legislation was the subject of long and intense debates in Congress, the final version was passed overwhelmingly by the House on July 30, 2008 by a vote of 424-1 and by the Senate on July 31, 2008 by a vote of 89-3.

Update: Senate sends safety reform to President

The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is on its way to the President after being passed by the Senate in an 89-to-3 vote Thursday. "What you'll see is better systems put in place to check for dangerous products," said Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.), the measure's chief backer in the Senate, in the Washington Post.

“Consumers Union dubbed 2007 the ‘Year of the Recall;’ today, the New Direction Congress dubs 2008 the ‘Year of Consumer Protection,’" House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement to the press. "With Senate passage of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, Congress has passed legislation on behalf of our nation’s most valuable resource—our children." The House passed the bill a day earlier.

Update: House of Representatives passes safety reform

Legislation that would ban lead in toys and give the Consumer Product Safety Commission more clout and resources got a step closer to becoming law Wednesday when the House of Representatives voted 424-to-1 to support the reform.

“The countdown to safer products has hopefully begun in earnest today with the bi-partisan House passage of sweeping product safety reforms," said Ami Gadhia, Policy Counsel with Consumers Union. "The Senate must also pass this legislation this week, and the President should sign on the dotted line so that the overhaul of the beleaguered CPSC can finally start. That's when consumers will start to have more confidence in the safety of the products they buy.” 

Learn more about the legislation and the consumer groups that support it from Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports.

Strain of Salmonella linked to outbreak found in second type of pepper

An expanded warning on peppers—this time including serranos from Mexico—has been issued by the Food and Drug Administration after it was discovered that both a sample of a pepper and a sample of irrigation water collected on a farm in the state of Nuevo Leon, Mexico contain Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint as the bacteria that is causing an outbreak that has sickened more than 1,300 people across the country.

As a result, until further notice, the FDA is advising consumers to avoid both raw serrano peppers and raw jalapeño peppers if they were grown, harvested or packed in Mexico, as well as any foods that contain them. Serranos and jalapeños grown in the U.S. are not connected to the outbreak, nor are  commercially canned, pickled or cooked jalapeno peppers.

The latest finding comes after months of tracking the source of the outbreak that was originally thought to have been caused by tomatoes. While tomatoes have not been cleared as a cause, the FDA has indicated that tomatoes now on the market are safe to eat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says on its Web site that, although it's unusual, it appears likely that "more than one food vehicle is involved in this outbreak."

Last week we reported that Salmonella Saintpaul had been traced back to a jalapeño pepper that had been provided by someone who was ill. That discovery was the first time the strain of Salmonella Saintpaul had been linked to a piece of produce and caused the investigators to turn to peppers grown in Mexico.

The investigation continues and the FDA is working with state regulatory agencies and food industry groups representing restaurants, grocery stores and wholesalers to make sure that their new advisory is clearly understood.

We'll continue to report on developments in the case and both the FDA and the CDC are issuing daily updates on their Web sites. This graphic shows how the FDA has been tracking the suspected food items.

Congress agrees on product safety legislation

It has been a long time coming—and desperately needed—but late Sunday night House and Senate conferees reached agreement on the broadest-sweeping product safety legislation since the inception of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in the late 1970’s.  The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 will now go to the floors of the House and the Senate for ratification, and then to President Bush for signature. 

The legislation was introduced last November following a record number of toy recalls due to lead paint, hazardous magnets or toxic chemicals.  The House passed the bill on December 19, 2007.  The Senate followed suit with its own version of the bill, which passed that chamber on March 6.  The complexity of the bill and its numerous provisions made reconciling the differences between the House and Senate version a daunting task.   

“We are extremely pleased that Congress has resolved the issues that have mired this legislation. The CPSC will now get the shot in the arm that has long been needed," said Ellen Bloom, Consumers Union’s Director of Federal Policy. "We fully expect that they will use the tools given to them by this legislation to prevent unsafe products from finding their way to our store shelves and into our homes.”  Consumers Union worked closely with other consumer groups including the Consumer Federation of America, Kids in Danger, the National Research Center for Women and Families, Public Citizen, Union of Concerned Scientists, and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, to make sure this legislation would give the CPSC the resources and authority it needs to protect consumers, especially children, from unsafe products.

Here are some of the key provisions in the bill:

• Lead will be essentially eliminated from all children’s products, and not just the paint.  Lead limits for paint will also be reduced to a minute amount.
• The toy safety standard, for which compliance has been voluntary, will become mandatory, thus protecting children from hazards not currently covered in federal regulation.
• Toys and other children’s products will be required to be tested for safety by independent laboratories before they are sold.
• The CPSC will establish tough safety standards for 12 categories of juvenile products including cribs, and will require them to include product registration cards so that consumers can more easily be reached in the event of a recall.
• The CPSC will receive substantial increases in resources, including a significantly higher budget, more staff, a new laboratory, and computer systems so they can more effectively protect consumers from unsafe goods.
• The CPSC will establish a publicly-accessible database to help consumers report and learn about hazards posed by unsafe products.
• The limit on civil penalties that the CPSC can levy on wrongdoers has been significantly increased, which will serve as a more effective deterrent for companies who consider disregarding their rules. 
• State Attorneys General will have the necessary authority to enforce products safety laws.
• All-terrain vehicle (ATV) safety standards will now become mandatory.

—Don Mays

Booster seat laws vary from state to state

Recent changes to booster-seat laws in Kentucky, Massachusetts and Michigan expose the hodgepodge of state rules that govern the use of safety seats by children older than four. The states are uniform in their requirement that children use a car seat until they outgrow front-facing child restraints, usually around the age of four and 40 pounds. But at that age and size kids are still too small to ride safely using only the vehicle's seats belts, which are constructed to fit adults. Booster seats elevate children to a height where they can wear the car's belts correctly.

As many as one half of children ages 4 to 7 are not properly protected when riding in a car, according to a study conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  In the study, 35 percent of children were prematurely using the car's seat belts without a booster and 15 percent were unrestrained— meaning not wearing a seat belt at all.

Not every state has a booster seat law. And even states that have passed laws fail to agree on what age, size or weight a child should be to graduate from a child restraint to car seat belts. New laws in Massachusetts and Michigan, for example, require children younger than eight or smaller than 4-feet, 9-inches to use booster seats. Kentucky's new law, however, only requires kids younger than seven and shorter than 4-feet, 2-inches to be belted in a booster.

With such a variety of state laws, it's hard for a parent to know what to do.  Jennifer Stockburger, program manager for vehicle and child safety at Consumers Union, says it's good to acquaint yourself with the laws in your state and others if you are planning to travel.  At CU, publishers of Consumer Reports, we recommend that you follow these four rules for determining whether your child is ready for adult seat belts rather than following your state's law alone.

1. Make sure the shoulder belt lies across the chest and shoulder blades and away from the neck.
2. Position the lap belt across the hips and upper thighs and not across the abdomen.
3. Make sure the child's back is against the seat back and that his knees bend comfortably over the seat cushion without needing to slouch.
4. Your child should be able to sit in that position comfortably for the duration of the trip.

Stockburger notes that children who are moved to adult belts prematurely too often suffer neck and abdominal injuries in car accidents.

CU is not alone in advocating that children remain in booster seats until they're ready for adult belts. NHTSA  recommends that children stay in booster seats until they are at least eight years old and 4-feet, 9-inches. So does the American Academy of Pediatrics, which has a  guide to child restraints on its Web site. Consumer Reports' Babies & Kids blog has a helpful timeline that parents can follow for proper car seat use for growing children.

President signs bill to make gas cans safer

President Bush recently signed into law the Children’s Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, a law that requires all portable gasoline containers sold after January 16, 2009 to have child-resistant closures. As we previously noted, this law closes a loophole that exempted gas cans from requirements that containers for dangerous household materials—including flammable liquids— be child resistant.

Now, gasoline containers will have to meet ASTM-International F 2517  (Standard Specification for Determination of Child Resistance of Portable Fuel Containers for Consumer Use). Some manufacturers already comply voluntarily with the standard.

Although Consumers Union supported the development of the standard, we also want consumers to recognize that it’s not foolproof. The standard requires only 80 percent effectiveness, which still puts some particularly determined or intuitive young children at risk.  So it’s still necessary to take precautions with stored gasoline cans. CU and the the Consumer Product Safety Commission offer the following tips.

• Whether or not your gasoline can has a child-resistant closure, keep gasoline, kerosene and other fuels well out of the reach of children.
• Place gasoline containers in a well ventilated, cool area.
• Never store gasoline or other fuels inside the house, in a basement, or near a fuel-burning appliance, open flames, pilot lights, stoves, heaters, electric mowers or any other sources of ignition.
• Never smoke near gasoline.
• Never store gasoline in the trunk of a vehicle.

Please note that even some gas cans that meet the standard may not be the best choice. In our tests of spill-resistant gas cans (see photo above) our testers found some child-resistant features so cumbersome that adults may be tempted to bypass them altogether. “Those that use removable disks to prevent the flow of gasoline were especially annoying,” says John Galeotafiore, CU’s Associate Director of Home Improvement.

Child's drowning leads to manslaughter charges against pool builder

In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, the president of a Connecticut pool company has been charged with manslaughter in the death of a six-year-old boy who drowned last summer after becoming entrapped by the powerful suction of filter pumps connected to pool drains.

David Lionetti, the president of Shoreline Pools of Stamford was charged with second degree manslaughter for allegedly failing to install mandatory safety devices in the pool where Zachary Cohn of nearby Greenwich drowned last July.

Under a Connecticut law adopted in 2004, new pools must have three or more anti-entrapment features included to ensure safety: an approved anti-vortex drain cover, a dual drain system in which two suction drains are located at least three feet apart to split the force of the suction, and a safety vacuum release system that cuts power to the pump when an object blocks the flow of water through the drain.

In earlier postings, we wrote about a new federal pool and spa safety measure that was signed into law in December. The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act requires that by December 19, 2008, all public pools and spas have safety drain covers, and in certain circumstances, an anti-entrapment system.

Tragically, over the past eight years there have been nine deaths and 63 injuries caused by the entrapment of people by suction from pool drains, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Broken or missing drain outlet covers are a leading cause of such incidents, according to the CPSC.

Just last week, a four-year-old Miami girl nearly drowned when her arm was caught in the vacuum drain of her family's backyard swimming pool.  Such incidents highlight the need for these safety measures.

One pool-safety advocate told ABC News that he is hopeful the prosecution of Lionetti will send a strong message to swimming pool owners, contractors and government building officials. "As a result of this arrest we are anticipating that many pools will now be made safe and compliant," said Paul Pennington, spokesman for the Pool Safety Consortium.

Brian and Karen Cohn, the parents of the boy who drowned in Greenwich, issued a statement through their attorney saying the prosecution would draw attention to the necessity for anti-entrapment devices and legislation making them mandatory, according a report in the Greenwich Time newspaper.

This past January, the Cohns filed a suit against Shoreline Pools, the town of Greenwich, and others involved in the construction of the pool, claiming the pool violated state building codes because the drainage system did not have necessary safeguards to shut off suction if an object blocked the drain.

"Nothing will bring our son back, but we hope this prosecution will help prevent another horrific accident like this from happening to someone else," the statement said. "Those who knowingly violate pool safety codes designed to protect children should be held accountable for their actions."

State Attorney David Cohen told the Greenwich Time that Lionetti's company failed to install a legally required safety vacuum-release system on the Cohn family's pool, and a mandated dual-drain system, Cohen said.

Under Connecticut law, municipal building inspectors are responsible for ensuring that pool plans are up to code and for inspecting the finished pool before issuing a certificate of occupancy. The Cohn's lawsuit contends that the town issued the permits without inspecting the plans and did not conduct a final inspection before issuing the certificate.

The case is being closely watched in both the safety and legal communities. If convicted, Lionetti faces up to 10 years in prison.

The smokin' jalapeño: Salmonella strain discovered in pepper

Calling it a "very important break in the case," the Food and Drug Administration today said it had found the strain of Salmonella responsible for a nationwide food-poisoning outbreak (Salmonella Saintpaul) in a Mexican-grown jalapeño in a Texas plant. The finding prompted a new warning for consumers to avoid eating fresh jalapeños or items made with them (fresh salsa). Processed or pickled peppers are still safe to eat.

The discovery is the first time the strain of Salmonella Saintpaul has been linked to a piece of produce in the months-long investigation that began with a probe of tomatoes in April. The agency issued a warning to avoid certain kinds of tomatoes in early June but lifted it last week.

Since April, 1251 persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 43 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.Two deaths have been attributed to the outbreak.

The finding doesn't mean that Mexican jalapeños are the source—the pepper may not have been contaminated on the farm but somewhere else in the distribution chain. On the conference call announcing the discovery, the FDA identified the vegetable distribution plant as Agricola Zaragoza, Inc. of McAllen, TX.  It’s a small operation, so it’s unlikely that this is the major source for all the problems. The peppers processed at the plant are being recalled.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that in addition to peppers, tomatillos are packed at this plant. Officials didn’t say where in the distribution chain this packing plant falls. Is it one step away from the field or many?

Still, it's a solid piece of evidence in an investigation that has confounded researchers—and consumers— for many months.

FDA says it's okay to eat tomatoes again

It's safe to eat tomatoes again. The Food and Drug Administration today announced that it is lifting its Salmonella warning on tomatoes amid signs that an outbreak that began this Spring has been slowing. Jalapeño and Serrano peppers, however, are still suspect, the agency said.

Consumers can now eat any tomatoes on the U.S. market. The FDA says that high risk populations—the elderly, children and those with compromised immune systems—should avoid eating the peppers in fresh, raw form (including in fresh salsa).

Although they were not cleared as a cause, tomatoes were taken off FDA's concern list because all the farms—mostly in southern Florida and Mexico—identified as being suspect have stopped producing tomatoes this season. There is still an investigation underway of a packing operation in Mexico that packs peppers from a number of growers.

“We still do not know where the original contamination point was,” David Acheson, assistant commissioner for food protection at the FDA, said in an afternoon conference call. The outbreak has sickened 1,220 people in 42 states, the District of Columbia and Canada. Although it is continuing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there appears to be a decrease in intensity (meaning fewer new cases a day) since mid June, which officials hope will continue.

To learn more about this outbreak, read our earlier posting, "The 411 on foodborne illness."

USDA to disclose which markets sold tainted meat

It should be a little easier for consumers across the country to figure out if they have recalled meat in their freezers under a new system being implemented by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Beginning next month, the USDA will start listing on its Web site retail stores that received meat or poultry products involved in Class I recalls—those of the most serious concern to public health. The USDA says it will post the retail outlet listings within 10 business days of issuing the recall release.

As Jean Halloran, the Director of Food Policy Initiatives at Consumers Union told Scientific American, the new USDA rules are helpful, but need to go further. Specifically, Halloran says the retail outlet disclosures should cover all meat recalls, not just Class I level recalls.

For example, the recent recall of 143 million pounds of beef from the Hallmark/Westland facility in California, which was prompted by video showing cows too sick to stand being illegally forced into the slaughterhouse, was a Class II recall. "All meat recalls that could affect health should be disclosed to the consumer including the information on the names and locations of stores involved," says Halloran.

Consumers Union is also concerned that the USDA has chosen not to list institutions such as schools and nursing homes that have been shipped recalled products. "People want to know if their children or elderly parents might be getting a potentially dangerous food product and can help bring attention to the need for action on a recall at these institutions," says Halloran. "We hope USDA can add such disclosure to its rules in the future."

Shoppers should note that not all meat products come under USDA jurisdiction. Some are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and those are not covered in the new measure.  For example, if there's a sausage recall the USDA list would not include stores that sold the sausage as a closed-face sausage-and-egg sandwich (FDA jurisdiction), but would include stores that sold open-face sausage-and-egg sandwiches (USDA jurisdiction).  It can be confusing but a chart on the FDA's Web site explains which agency is responsible for oversight of which foods.

Despite the drawbacks, Halloran says, "We're pleased that USDA will no longer keep consumers in the dark about recalled meat."

On the CR blogs: Improved crash tests

Our colleagues on the Cars blog are talking about several enhancements to the government's crash test program for the 2010 model year. Most notably, female crash dummies will be used and a new side pole test will simulate a vehicle striking a tree. Consumers Union has been a proponent for the female crash test dummy, among other safety improvements, because it enables the tests to better represent a broad range of body types, specifically women and larger children.

We applaud the new measures and the resulting improvements to car safety. To read about the upcoming changes in more detail, visit the Cars blog.

The 411 on foodborne illness

The number of persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul is approaching 1,000, with victims identified in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. But as of this writing federal authorities are still stymied and seem no closer to finding a cause. In fact, over the holiday weekend the investigation was broadened to include not only the original suspect—tomatoes—but also foods commonly eaten with tomatoes such as those found in salsa. Cilantro as well as jalapeño and Serrano peppers have been added to the probe.

According to an article in the Wall Street Journal, the government is investigating fresh salsa prepared at restaurants—and not processed or canned or jarred salsa. According to the report, the restaurants have not been identified. The Washington Post writes today that some salsas prepared at home are also in the mix.

What has been confounding about this latest outbreak of Salmonella is its longevity. Since April, 971 persons infected with Salmonella Saintpaul with the same genetic fingerprint have been identified in 40 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada. The number of ill persons identified in each state is as follows: Alabama (2 persons), Arkansas (10), Arizona (45), California (8), Colorado (12), Connecticut (4), Florida (2), Georgia (24), Idaho (4), Illinois (93), Indiana (14), Iowa (2), Kansas (17), Kentucky (1), Louisiana (1), Maine (1), Maryland (29), Massachusetts (22), Michigan (7), Minnesota (8), Missouri (12), New Hampshire (4), Nevada (11), New Jersey (9), New Mexico (98), New York (28), North Carolina (10), Ohio (7), Oklahoma (23), Oregon (10), Pennsylvania (8), Rhode Island (3), South Carolina (1), Tennessee (8), Texas (381), Utah (2), Virginia (29), Vermont (2), Washington (4), Wisconsin (10), and the District of Columbia (1). Four ill persons are reported from Canada; three appear to have been infected while traveling in the United States, and one illness remains under investigation.

FDA. CDC. USDA. CSI?
A foodborne disease outbreak is defined as a group of people developing the same illnesses after ingesting the same food. Public health officials say it's possible that more people have been afflicted by this outbreak because not everyone who feels sick seeks treatment. The symptoms resemble intestinal flu and may last a few hours or even several days. Symptoms can range from mild to serious and include:

• abdominal cramps
• nausea
• vomiting
• diarrhea, which is sometimes bloody
• fever
• dehydration

When someone does seek treatment, the doctor serves as the first investigator and, if foodborne illness is suspected, may start a line of questioning recommended by the CDC that includes asking whether the patient has consumed raw or poorly cooked foods (e.g. raw or undercooked eggs, meats, shellfish, fish), unpasteurized milk or juices, home canned goods, fresh produce, or soft cheeses made from unpasteurized milk. The doctor may also ask if any of the patient's family members or close friends have similar symptoms.  If the doctor suspects a foodborne illness he or she submits specimens for laboratory testing and contacts the state or local health department.

If you suspect that something you ate made you sick, the U.S. Department of Agriculture recommends you follow these guidelines:

1. Preserve the evidence. If a portion of the suspect food is available, wrap it securely, mark "DANGER" and freeze it. Save all the packaging materials, such as cans or cartons. Write down the food type, the date, other identifying marks on the package, the time consumed, and when the onset of symptoms occurred. Save any identical unopened products.
2. Seek treatment as necessary. If you are in an "at risk" group, seek medical care immediately. Likewise, if symptoms persist or are severe (such as bloody diarrhea, excessive nausea and vomiting, or high temperature), call your doctor.
3. Call the local health department if the suspect food was served at a large gathering, from a restaurant or other food service facility, or if it is a commercial product.

Both the Food and Drug Administration and the USDA regulate food safety. While the FDA is responsible for non-meat products such as seafood, fruits, vegetables and eggs, the USDA oversees meat, poultry, and processed egg products. The CDC assists states in outbreak investigations and is a non-regulatory agency. The CDC offers guidelines on how to report a foodborne illness including contact information for all state health departments.

We will continue to follow this outbreak and hope the source is discovered. You can also check for updates on the Web sites of the CDC and the FDA.

Ground beef recall
As if the tomato and salsa scare wasn't enough of an assault on summer foods, the USDA expanded its recall of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 sold at Kroger's stores and related properties. The recall involves a number of brand names and sell-by dates between May 17 and July 5 listed in the recall notice. Illnesses associated with the recall have been reported mostly in Ohio and Michigan. Consumers are urged to check their refrigerators and freezers and discard or return the ground beef products for a refund.

New legislation requires child-resistant closures on gas containers

Congress has approved legislation requiring all portable gasoline containers to have child-resistant closures. The legislation, which needs only President Bush's signature to become law, will require all portable gasoline containers sold in the United States to meet child resistance standards set by ASTM International.

The legislation, dubbed the Children's Gasoline Burn Prevention Act, closes a loophole that exempted gas cans from stricter child-resistance requirements for packaging for household products that contain dangerous materials. The exemption existed because gas cans, which are sold empty, are only hazardous when filled with gasoline. Yeah, we know this is a ridiculous loophole.  We testified in favor of the legislation to close the loophole during congressional hearings last summer.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that in a single year over 1,200 children under the age of five are treated in emergency rooms for injuries related to gasoline, either through fire, ingestion or inhalation of fumes. The agency says that over an 11-year period, there were 33 cases that involved a child under the age of five gaining access to a gas can. Of these, 19 resulted in death.

According to an American Academy of Pediatrics study of gasoline burn incidents, "no injury is potentially more disfiguring, disruptive to a child's life, and more painful to endure than burn injuries."

Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kansas, introduced the legislation after learning of a tragic incident involving two children in Kansas. A four-year-old boy lost his life and his younger brother was permanently scarred after they opened a gas can and spilled its contents near a hot water heater.

Remarking on final passage of the legislation, Moore said, "We can't protect our children from every scratch or bruise, but we can certainly take steps to avoid the obvious hazards. Too many children have already been injured or killed in these horrible accidents."

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri , says the legislation "finally closes that loophole, giving parents one less thing they will have to worry about." McCaskill pushed for approval of the measure in the Senate, which unanimously approved the legislation in June.

Parents should be aware that even with child-resistant closures, you need to keep gasoline containers beyond a young child's reach.  Although we believe mandatory compliance with ASTM-International is a major step forward in protecting children, even with it as many as 20 percent of children can defeat the child-resistant closure.

Most fireworks mishaps occur around the Fourth of July

It’s hard to imagine an Independence Day celebration without fireworks, whether it’s a big booming professional display or just a few sparklers in the backyard.

Unfortunately, more and more Americans are being injured or killed in fireworks-related incidents each year, especially kids. And there is no more dangerous time when it comes to fireworks than the days surrounding the Fourth of July holiday.

The Consumer Products Safety Commission has just released some new figures on fireworks-related deaths and injuries and the news is not encouraging.

For starters, there has been a steady upward trend in fireworks-related injuries over the past 10 years. More than 9,800 Americans were injured by fireworks last year, according to the agency, a substantial jump from 2006 when there were about 9,200 such injuries.

The agency says there were 11 fireworks-related deaths last year, the same number recorded in 2006. Five people were killed in incidents involving aerial and display fireworks. Three people died in fires where fireworks were the ignition source. Three people were killed as a result of manufacturing or storing illegal fireworks. 

Injuries to children were a major component of total fireworks-related incidents last year, with children under 15 accounting for 42 percent of the estimated injuries. Children and young adults under 20 had 54 percent of the estimated injuries. Of the injuries sustained last year, 70 percent were to males and 30 percent were to females. 

Following some simple, commonsense guidelines can go a long way in helping prevent fireworks-related injuries.

Make sure you know what devices are legal to use in your area. Several states, including New York and New Jersey, b