Defective Cribs Recalled - CPSC Issues Safety Alerts
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has announced a child product recall of two different brands of cribs – about 1,300 units of Mother Hubbard’s Cupboards full-size wooden cribs and 500 Davenport cribs, whose importer, Baby Appleseed, is based in City of Industry California. No injuries have been reported concerning either of these defective products.
According to a CPSC alert, all these cribs fail to meet federal safety standards because the distance between the mattress support bracket in the lowest position and the top of the side rail in the highest position is less than the required 26 inches, posing a fall hazard to children who climb over the railing. These cribs were sold at most children’s stores from March 2006 to March 2008 priced between $500 and $800.
Consumers are asked to stop using these cribs and are asked to contact the manufacturer for instructions on how to re-install the support brackets to eliminate this hazard. For more information about the Mother Hubbard recall, please call the manufacturer toll-free at 1-888-661-8201 or visit their Web site at www.mhcfurniture.com.
The recall also includes Davenport crib models that begin with the model numbers 273-xxxx-xxxx and have manufacture dates on or before August 2007 printed on a label located on the right side of the lower inner panel of the crib. The recalled cribs have two mattress support systems-a metal one and a wooden one. Newer Davenport cribs with model numbers beginning with 244-xxxx-xxxx that have one mattress support are not included in the recall.
Over the last five years, we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of cribs, bassinets and baby beds recalled. A majority of these products were manufactured in other countries and imported by a United States company. Quality control and adherence to U.S. safety standards seems to be a major issue for these manufacturers of children’s products.
But I’m glad that these defective products have been recalled before injuries were reported. The challenge for these companies now is to get the word out so that consumers who own these cribs hear about the recall and take the necessary steps to correct the flaws and keep their children safe.
