2.1 Million Cribs Are Recalled in U.S. and Canada

2.1 Million Cribs Are Recalled in U.S. and Canada
By SARAH WHEATON
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: November 23, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/business/24crib.html?scp=1&sq=crib%20recall&st=cse


Citing cases of infants being trapped and suffocated, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced a voluntary recall of more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs on Monday, the largest recall ever of cribs.

The recall comes amid growing concern about the safety of drop-side cribs, in which the crib’s side gate slides up and down. Four infants, including one in the Bronx and one in Gouverneur, N.Y., have died from being trapped in these side gates, the agency reported. It recommended that parents “immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit.”

According to the recall, more than 1.2 million of the cribs have been sold in the United States, and about 968,000 in Canada, since 1993 – including about 147,000 under a Fisher-Price brand.

The agency said the danger could result from improper installation of the drop side, or from the plastic hardware of the drop side breaking, potentially causing one of the corners to detach. Babies can then get stuck in the space between the side and the mattress.

The safety commission reported 110 incidents related to detachment of the cribs, which were manufactured in Canada, China and Indonesia.

Caregivers can contact Stork Craft, which is based in British Columbia, Canada, to order the free repair kit, at (877) 274-0277, or by logging on to www.storkcraft.com -- though the Web site appeared to have been overloaded on Monday evening.

All Stork Craft cribs manufactured and distributed between May 2000 and November 2008 – about 535,000 – were subject to a voluntary recall in January.

However, Monday’s recall applies only to the drop-side cribs, which have been a source of increasing concern. Nearly a million of the models by Simplicity have been recalled over the last two years, and Suffolk County, N.Y., instituted a ban on drop-side cribs. Last week, ASTM International, a group that sets voluntary product standards worldwide, approved a measure requiring fixed sides on cribs, and the major retailer Toys “R” Us has said it will stop selling the model.