Hamilton Beach recalls toasters

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, has announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Hamilton Beach® and Proctor-Silex® Toasters

Units: About 482,000

Importer: Hamilton Beach Brands Inc., of Glen Allen, Va.

Hazard: The toasters can remain “on” (energized) after popping up, and can ignite flammable items covering or in contact with the toaster, posing a fire hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: Hamilton Beach has received at least 63 reports of toasters that remained “on” despite being in the “up” position. There are no reports of injuries or fires.

Description: The recalled Hamilton Beach® and Proctor-Silex® toasters are black, red, white, chrome or brushed chrome with 2-slice or 4-slice openings. Hamilton Beach or Proctor-Silex is printed on the side of the toasters. Only specific series codes of each model are included in this recall. The model number and series code are printed on the bottom of the toasters.

Toaster Model Numbers
22145B	22779
22145BC	22900
22450	22903
22559	22903H
22625	24450
22627C	24559
22635	24657
22657	24779
22658

Sold at: Department stores, mass merchandisers, grocery stores, home center stores, and other stores retail stores nationwide, and various online retailers from August 2007 through February 2008 for between $13 and $40.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled toasters and contact Hamilton Beach for instructions to receive a free replacement toaster.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact Hamilton Beach at (800) 574-6800 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.hamiltonbeach.com for Hamilton Beach® toasters, and www.proctorsilex.com for Proctor-Silex® toasters.

JC Penney recalls deep fryers

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Cooks Deep Fryers

Units: About 27,000

Importer: JCPenney, of Plano, Texas

Hazard: The deep fryer has a faulty heating element which can cause it to overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: JCPenney is aware of five incidents involving the deep fryers, including one report of a minor burn and three reports of damaged countertops.

Description: The Cooks deep fryer has a brushed stainless steel exterior, a wire mesh basket with a handle, a lid with a window and black handles. The deep fryer has a 1/3-gallon capacity. “Cooks” is stamped on the side of the deep fryer. Model number 22016 is printed on the bottom of the deep fryer.

Sold exlusively at: JCPenney’s stores nationwide, catalog and at www.jcp.com from August 2007 through January 2008 for about $50.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the deep fryer and return it to the nearest JCPenney store for a full refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, contact JCPenney toll-free at (888) 333-6063 anytime, or visit the firm’s Web site at www.jcp.com

Consumer Product Safety Reform Act passes Senate

Strong support for this legislation:

The U.S. Senate on Thursday approved Sen. Mark Pryor's legislation that would make major changes to consumer product safety law. The Senate approved the bill, called the "Consumer Product Safety Reform Act," by a 79-13 vote after four days of debate.

"It provides new safety safeguards that emphasize resources, accountability, disclosure and testing _ from the factory floor to the store shelves," said Pryor, D-Ark.

The bill calls for a public database of consumer complaints, bolsters the Consumer Products Safety Commission to help it certify the safety of overseas products, bans lead in children's goods and sets new standards for safe toys. The Bush administration and other critics said the database unfairly could taint manufacturers. But President Bush has not threatened a veto.

The House's version has many differences, including a lower cap for jury awards.

Killer stoves in the spotlight again

Killer stoves?

It sounds like a bad horror movie, but it’s for real. Consumer advocates estimate that there have been at least 33 deaths and 84 serious injuries in recent years from stoves that suddenly tip over and burn or kill someone underneath.

Most of the victims have been children scalded by whatever is bubbling on top of the stove, or elderly people trying to get something in or out of the oven....

The solution is simple. An anti-tip bracket should be installed with every stove to keep it steady and upright while in use.

In a recent settlement of a class-action lawsuit, Sears agreed to install the necessary brackets on about four million free-standing or slide-in stoves that were sold, delivered, and connected by the store between July 2, 2000 and September 18, 2007. The company also agreed to install anti-tip brackets on all free-standing stoves delivered over the next three years.

The settlement is good news for Sears customers, but what about people who buy their stoves somewhere else?

More here from The New York Times.

Polaris Industries recalls ATVs

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Select "Outlaw IRS" ATVs, Model Year 2006-2008

Units: About 11,300

Manufacturer: Polaris Industries Inc., of Medina, Minn.

Hazard: A retention bolt can come loose causing the rear wheels to lock up, which poses a risk of serious injury to the rider.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 11 reports of loss of control, including one rider who suffered a strained leg muscle.

Description: The recall involves select 2006-2008 Polaris “Outlaw” ATVs with Independent Rear Suspension (IRS). The affected models are:

Model
2006 OUTLAW 500 “IRS”
2007 OUTLAW 500 “IRS”
2007 OUTLAW 525 “IRS”
2008 OUTLAW 525 “IRS”

The model name is printed on decals located on either side of the fuel tank.

Sold at: Polaris dealers nationwide from January 2006 through January 2008 for between $6,900 and $7,400.

Manufactured in: United States

Remedy: Consumers should stop using the recalled ATVs immediately, and contact any Polaris ATV dealer to schedule a free repair. Polaris has notified registered consumers directly about this recall.

Consumer Contact: For further information, contact Polaris toll-free at (888) 704-5290 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday, or visit the company's Web site at www.polarisindustries.com

Organic pet food sales grow after pet deaths

The New York Times has a piece about the steady growth in this industry:

Pet Promise pledges its foods are made from “source-verified, natural ingredients.” Although a 25-pound bag of its dog food costs around $43, compared with around $24 for a 50-pound bag of the conventional stuff, sales rocketed by 300 percent at the height of the recall, says its co-founder, Dave Carter. But the company didn’t sustain those supercharged growth levels; for all of 2007, Pet Promise had high double-digit growth, which was in line with annual growth trends in previous years. After all, the natural and organic pet-food category has expanded at a steady clip for a while.... Yet the category remains a very thin slice of the pet-food business — probably less than 1 percent. Pet-food sales in grocery and mass-merchandise stores, which sell a lot of regular pet food, took a hit in the second quarter of 2007, according the Nielsen Company, but had rebounded by the end of the year.