Wednesday, July 28, 2010

BPA Found in Grocery, Restaurant and Other Receipts

BPA Found in Grocery, Restaurant and Other Receipts

Suspect chemical used to coat thermal paper for register receipts

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical used in plastic containers that some studies suggest is a health hazard. Now, it turns out BPA can even be found in the receipt you get after a trip to the store, a fast-food outlet or even the Post Office.

Laboratory tests commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a consumer group, have reportedly found high levels of BPA on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses and services, including outlets of McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway and the U.S. Postal Service.

Receipts from Target, Starbucks, Bank of America ATMs and other important enterprises were BPA-free or contained only trace amounts.

The total amounts of BPA on receipts tested were 250 to 1,000 times greater than other, more widely discussed sources of BPA exposure, including canned foods, baby bottles and infant formula, the group said.


READ MORE....http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2010/07/bpa_grocery_receipts.html

CPSC Announces Pool and Spa Kids Safety Education Effort

CPSC Announces Pool and Spa Kids Safety Education Effort

Hundreds of pool and spa incidents since Memorial Day Weekend

Houston - Halfway through the summer swimming season, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has seen news reports of more than 210 child drowning and non-fatal submersion incidents in pools and spas around the country since Memorial Day Weekend. In an effort to reduce these preventable incidents, CPSC and partners Safe Kids USA and the National Drowning Prevention Alliance (NDPA) joined forces today to introduce a new kids safety education program. The centerpieces of the program are a multi-part educational video and an online activity, which are part of CPSC’s national Pool Safely campaign.

“Just one incident is one too many,” said Inez M. Tenenbaum, Chairman of the CPSC. “These statistics are a wake up call and a reminder that these tragic incidents are preventable. Our kids safety program is designed to teach parents and children simple water safety steps so that everyone will Pool Safely this summer.”

The educational video highlights individual experiences and uses seven simple Pool Safely steps to encourage safe and responsible behavior in and around pools and spas. It is introduced by actress Ming-Na, the voice of Mulan in Disney animated films and star of the NBC drama “ER.” The video series is available to view at www.youtube.com/poolsafely and on the websites of Safe Kids (www.safekids.org) and the NDPA (www.ndpa.org)

The new Pool Safely interactive online activity is designed for parents and young children. It highlights unsafe behaviors around the pool in a variety of real-world settings such as backyard, hotel and community pools. Game players are encouraged to identify the trouble spots and behaviors. The online activity is aimed at children seven and under and will be available for play on the Pool Safely website and on the websites of the NDPA and Safe Kids.

“Safe Kids is proud to work with the CPSC on the creation of a kids safety education program,” said Mitch Stoller, president and CEO, Safe Kids Worldwide. “Children and families can learn valuable water safety messages – that may ultimately help save a life – through a new online activity and educational videos made possible by the Pool Safely campaign.”

“The NDPA is proud to be a Pool Safely Campaign Safety Partner,” said Kristin Goffman, Founding Board Member and Executive Director of NDPA. “Our members are dedicated drowning prevention and water safety advocates who will be able to use the educational video and Pool Safely campaign materials to help families learn how to prevent the needless tragedy of child drownings. We are excited to work with the CPSC and the other campaign partners to spark a national conversation about how we can all help keep kids safe around pools and spas."

“I fully support the new Pool Safely campaign and the efforts to increase public awareness about preventing drowning deaths and injuries,” said Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. “Harris County residents should visit the Pool Safely website and review the water safety tips with their children before heading out to the pool. A little time spent online can possibly make a life-saving difference in the water.”

The Pool Safely campaign is CPSC’s national information and education program associated with the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act (P&SS Act). The Pool Safely campaign is designed to raise public awareness, support industry compliance with safety standards, and improve safety at pools and spas. The campaign was launched in Fort Lauderdale, Florida prior to Memorial Day.

Last month, the Pool Safely campaign released a series of public service announcements that remind the American public how to stay safe in and around pools and spas. They can be viewed by visiting www.youtube.com/poolsafely

Monday, July 12, 2010

Rental companies hiring out recalled cars?

Published: July 7, 2010 at 1:22 PM

Enterprise, the biggest U.S. car-rental company, says it will no longer routinely give customers cars that are subject to safety recalls.

But executives said recalls have to be evaluated individually, because there are so many, ABC News reported.

Earlier this year a California jury awarded $15 million to the parents of two sisters who died in a head-on collision with a truck while driving home for a visit in 2004. Raechel and Jacquie Houck, both in their early 20s, had rented a PT Cruiser that was under recall because of a defect that could cause engine fires.

Enterprise managers said in affidavits that it was company policy to rent recalled vehicles, depending on what was available. Hertz and Avis said they deal with recalls on a case-by-case basis while working closely with car companies to get repairs done.

Critics say most rental companies are too casual about recalls.

READ MORE: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2010/07/07/Rental-companies-hiring-out-recalled-cars/UPI-15151278523348/

Monday, July 5, 2010

Officials worry about consumers lost among the recalls

By Lyndsey Layton
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 2, 2010

McDonald's asked customers to return 12 million glasses emblazoned with the character Shrek. Kellogg's warned consumers to stop eating 28 million boxes of Froot Loops and other cereals. Campbell Soup asked the public to return 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs, and seven companies recalled 2 million cribs.

As product recalls pile up, consumers risk getting lost

And that was just a fraction of the products recalled in the United States last month alone.

Government regulators, retailers, manufacturers and consumer experts are concerned that recall notices have become so frequent across a range of goods -- foods, consumer products, cars -- that the public is suffering from "recall fatigue."

In many cases, people simply ignore urgent calls to destroy or return defective goods.

One recent study found that 12 percent of Americans who knew they had recalled food at home ate it anyway. After Hasbro recalled the iconic Easy Bake Oven in 2007 because about two dozen children had gotten fingers stuck in the door, the toymaker received 249 more reports of injuries over the following six months. One 5-year-old girl was so seriously burned that doctors had to partially amputate a finger.

"It's a real issue," said Jeff Farrar, associate commissioner for food protection at the Food and Drug Administration, who said even his wife has complained about the difficulty of keeping pace with recalls. "That number is steadily going up, and it's difficult for us to get the word out without oversaturating consumers."

The problem is twofold: Some people never learn that a product they own has been recalled, and others know they have a recalled product but don't think anything bad will happen.

"The national recall system that's in place now just doesn't work," said Craig Wilson, assistant vice president for quality assurance and food safety at Costco. "We call it the Chicken Little syndrome. If you keep shouting at the wind -- 'The sky is falling! The sky is falling!' -- people literally become immune to the message."

Exactly why this service was created....An Analogy...

Most of us fear Tigers, but don't worry about them...We would if they were in our cupboards/fridge/etc.

JUST LIKE RECALLS!

READ MORE: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/01/AR2010070106504.html