Recall, Safety Alert, or Parenting 101?

When is a product recall really a “recall?’  Definitions of the word recall include:  to call back, order home or withdraw.  The definition seems clear enough.  If a product is in the marketplace and it has a defect that endangers the public safety, the manufacturer should “call back” the item to prevent possible injury.  Recently however, the Consumer Product Safety Commission seemed to redefine the word recall. 

Take the recent “recall” announced on February 11^th for Summer Infant ‘s baby video monitors.   The company received reports of the strangulation deaths of two infants caused by the electrical cords of the monitor wrapping around the infant’s neck and cutting off their air supply.  Since 2004 CPSC has received notification of seven infant deaths involving the cords on baby monitors in general. 

Normally “recalls” are used when a product defect is found, or when the product does not comply with an existing safety regulation.  Neither of these is true in the case of the baby monitor involved.  In fact, the monitors were placed on the infant crib or on the wall over the crib where the cords were within reach of the child.  Parental or caregiver responsibility has to be considered in this case. 

The manufacturer of the monitors is not asking for the monitors back from consumer; they are simply asking the consumer to call to receive a set of warning labels that more clearly advise not to place the monitor too close to baby’s crib or play area.  According to CPSC Commissioner Nancy Nord, the response to this “recall” has been minimal, and in some cases the response has been anger or frustration that they were frightened into thinking their monitor was defective.

On her blog, Commissioner Nord indicates that the reason she was given for the use of the term “recall” for this scenario was that “this is the only way to get media attention—unless we call it a recall, no one will pay attention to us.”  Really?  Does our government really think the US consumer buys that?  Given the very poor response to this “recall” so far, it appears that a Safety Alert and clear information on the safe placement of ANYTHING with hanging cords near babies would have been sufficient. Not only that, but if you purchased a monitor, heard “recall” and then found out the solution was a set of paper labels…well, what would your response be? 

Once you begin to pollute the field of product recalls with every type of warning or educational program, you have begun to slide down a very slippery slope.  At what point does the consumer just stop listening?

Leave your comments below.  Has the constant barrage of product recalls since 2007 made you question product safety overall?  How much time do you spend reading warning labels on products?