Hunton Retail Law Resource

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed most aspects of the economy. The world of consumer products is no exception to this trend. The CPSC has the following notice posted on its website warning that not all recall remedies may be currently available:

The CPSC also issued guidance for keeping consumers’ homes safe during the pandemic. One area of focus is child-resistant packaging on medicines and cleaning products given that school closures have forced families to stay at home. Recent recalls also reflect the CPSC’s focus on product packaging: nearly one-third (8 of 26) of March’s recalls concerned packaging issues. The recalls involved either failures to meet child-resistant packaging requirements under the Poison Prevention Packaging Act or failures to meet “poison” labeling requirements under the Federal Hazardous Substance Act. We expect to see the CPSC continue its enforcement efforts to protect children from accidental ingestion of potentially harmful products during the pandemic.

In March, the CPSC voted unanimously to move forward with a proposed federal safety rule prohibiting the sale of padded, pillow-like crib bumpers that fail to meet minimum airflow requirements (similar to mesh liners). The rule would protect infants from suffocation and death hazards linked to crib bumpers. Currently, crib bumpers are only subject to voluntary industry standards. The next step is for the proposed rule to be open for public comment followed by the issuance of a final mandatory standard for crib bumpers that would replace the current, voluntary ASTM standard with tougher requirements. A few states have already banned padded crib bumpers, including Ohio, Maryland and New York.

Total Recalls: 26

Hazards: Violation of Federal Standard (11); Fire/Burn/Shock (6); Fall (4); Tip-Over (2); Laceration (2); Injury (1)