IKEA recalls 36 million chests and dressers after six deaths

Flags and the company's logo are seen outside of an IKEA Group store in Spreitenbach

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Swedish furniture company IKEA Group [IKEA.UL] is recalling almost 36 million chests and dressers in the United States and Canada but said the products linked to the deaths of six children are safe when anchored to walls as instructed.

The recall covers six models of MALM chests or dressers manufactured from 2002 to 2016 and about 100 other families of chests or dressers that the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said could topple over if not anchored securely to walls, posing a threat to children.

“It is simply too dangerous to have the recalled furniture in your home unanchored, especially if you have young children,” CPSC Chairman Elliott Kaye said in a statement on Tuesday.

Tipped-over furniture or television sets kill a U.S. child every two weeks, he added.

IKEA said that the recall was based on a standard applicable in North America for free-standing clothing storage units and that the products meet all mandatory stability requirements in Europe and other parts of the world.

“When attached to a wall the products are safe. We have had no other issues with that in any other country,” said Kajsa Johansson, a spokeswoman for IKEA in Sweden.

IKEA said it had no details on potential costs stemming from the recall.

A recall summary from the company said that the chests and dressers are unstable if not properly anchored to a wall, posing a serious tip-over and entrapment hazard that could result in death or injury to children.

Two U.S. toddlers died in separate 2014 incidents when MALM chests fell on them. A 22-month-old boy was killed last year in a similar incident, which occurred after IKEA had announced a repair program including a free wall-anchoring kit.

None of the furnishings in the fatal incidents had been anchored to a wall.

IKEA had received reports of 41 tip-over incidents involving non-MALM chests that caused 19 injuries and the deaths of three children from 1989 to 2007.

As part of the recall, IKEA is offering refunds or a free wall-anchoring kit.

The U.S. recall covers about 8 million MALM chests and dressers and 21 million other models of chests and dressers. About 6.6 million are being recalled in Canada.

Ikea has sold approximately 147.4 million chests of drawers globally since 1998.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson in Washington DC and Mia Shanley in Stockholm; Editing by Dan Grebler and David Goodman)

FDA too slow to order food recalls, U.S. watchdog finds

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) – The Food and Drug Administration is too slow to order companies to recall tainted foods, leaving people at risk of illness and death, a government watchdog said in a review of the agency’s food safety program.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General reviewed 30 recalls that occurred between 2012 and 2015, including two in which companies did not recall all affected items until 165 days and 81 days after the FDA became aware of tainted foods. The watchdog issued its report on Wednesday.

“FDA does not have adequate policies and procedures to ensure that firms take prompt and effective action in initiating voluntary food recalls,” the report said. “As a result, consumers remained at risk of illness or death for several weeks after FDA was aware of a potentially hazardous food in the supply chain.”

The watchdog urged the FDA to address the problem immediately.

In a blog post, FDA food safety officials Stephen Ostroff and Howard Sklamberg called the report’s findings “unacceptable” and said the agency is “totally committed” to food safety.

Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut in a statement said it was “mind-boggling” that the FDA does not have policies or procedures to ensure swift voluntary food recalls.

DeLauro, who oversees drug and food safety in her position on the House of Representatives subcommittee responsible for the FDA, pointed to a salmonella outbreak last year in cucumbers, which sickened nearly 900 people, hospitalized 191 and killed six. The outbreak began in July, but it took until September before producers started recalling product.

“Delays like this one – and others found in the report – are completely unacceptable and leave American consumers at risk for illness and death,” DeLauro said.

Ostroff and Sklamberg said the FDA has a plan underway to strengthen compliance and enforcement policies, including both voluntary and mandatory recalls.

But they said recalls must be based on scientific evidence borne out of an outbreak investigation. And while timeframes for recalls need to be set, “they must be done on an individual basis rather than by setting arbitrary deadlines.”

To speed the FDA’s response, Ostroff and Sklamberg said the agency has established a team of experts from different scientific disciplines to oversee outbreak investigations. They also cited FDA’s adoption in 2014 of the use of whole genome sequencing, a more precise technology for determining the genetic fingerprint of foodborne pathogens.

In addition, provisions in the 2011 Food Safety Modernization Act that require companies to minimize food safety risks, and require companies to have a recall plan, will begin to take effect this fall.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Leslie Adler)

G.M. recalls 1.04 million newer trucks

The GM logo is seen at the General Motors Lansing Grand River Assembly Plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – General Motors Co said Friday it is recalling nearly 1.04 million newer pickup trucks for a seat belt flaw.

The largest U.S. automaker said the recall of the 2014-15 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra 1500 pickups is not linked to any crashes or injuries. GM said the cost of the large recall “is not expected to be significant and is covered within normal and customary warranty reserves.”

GM said the recall in the United States includes 895,232 vehicles and a stop-sale of approximately 3,000 new 2014 and 2015 model year pickups still on dealer lots.

GM said the recall was prompted by warranty data that showed the flexible steel cable that connects the seat belt to the vehicle can separate over time as a result of the driver repeatedly bending the cable when entering the seat.

Dealers will enlarge the side shield opening, install a bracket on the tensioner, and if necessary, replace the tensioner assembly.

The recall includes about 142,000 vehicles outside the United States.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)

Hyundai recalls 173,000 Sonata Cars

The Hyundai logo is seen outside a Hyundai car

(Reuters) – Hyundai Motor Co will recall 173,000 model year 2011 Sonata cars in the U.S. market for a potentially defective power steering system, U.S. safety officials said in a filing on Friday.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the cars made from late December 2009 through late October 2010 may have a damaged circuit board that could cause the loss of power steering.

The loss of power steering can increase the risk of a crash, particularly at low speeds, NHTSA said.

The company told the NHTSA it has not identified any crashes or injuries related to the issue.

Hyundai told the NHTSA that it has been making the Sonata sedan for the U.S. market since December 2009, and by March 2015, the number of warranty claims due to lost power steering triggered a company investigation.

In January of this year, it was determined that before October 2010, when a supplier upgraded the protective covering of the circuit board, the boards could be damaged over time.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall in Detroit; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

New Takata air bag recall to cover 5 million U.S. vehicles

(Reuters) – U.S. regulators on Friday announced a new recall of about 5 million vehicles with potentially defective Takata Corp air bags, covering some automakers not previously affected by one of the biggest auto safety recalls in U.S. history.

The new action brings to 28 million the number of Takata air bag inflators recalled and increases the number of vehicles affected in the United States to as many as 24 million, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said.

Friday’s move was prompted in part by the death of the driver of a Ford Motor Co pickup truck last month, as well as new tests conducted on suspected faulty air bags.

Automakers affected for the first time include Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit and Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz unit.

“This is a massive safety crisis,” NHTSA spokesman Gordon Trowbridge told reporters.

NHTSA in November said tens of millions of additional vehicles with inflators containing ammonium nitrate will be recalled by 2018 unless Takata can prove that they are safe.

The Dec. 22 death of a Georgia man in South Carolina was the 10th worldwide linked with Takata’s air bag inflators, NHTSA said. It was also the first to occur in a vehicle that was not made by Honda Motor Co.

The 5 million vehicles covered by the new recall include about 1 million with inflators similar to those installed on the Ford Ranger pickup, NHTSA said.

About 4 million other vehicles will be recalled due to additional testing on Takata air bags, including vehicles from Honda, VW and other automakers, the safety agency said.

Twelve major automakers have previously recalled more than 23 million Takata air bag inflators in more than 19 million vehicles in one of the largest and most complex safety recalls in U.S. automotive history.

NHTSA did not immediately say how many of the 5 million vehicles being recalled Friday may have been covered by previous recalls.

Takata’s inflators can explode with too much force and spray metal shrapnel into vehicle passenger compartments and are linked to more than 100 U.S. injuries.

A South Carolina attorney said in a complaint filed with NHTSA that his client was killed when “metal from the inflator canister exploded penetrating my client’s neck resulting in death.”

The attorney, Andrew Creech, said in the complaint, “There is no doubt airbag shrap (shrapnel) metal killed my client, as this has been confirmed by death certificate and autopsy report.”

The man killed in the 2006 Ford Ranger struck a cow that was in the road, Creech’s report to NHTSA said.

Creech was not available for comment on Friday.

In November, Takata agreed to pay a $70 million fine for safety violations and could face deferred penalties of up to $130 million under a NHTSA settlement.

NHTSA in December named a former Justice Department official as a monitor to help regulators oversee the massive recalls.

The Ford death is the first reported since the July crash of a 2001 Honda Accord coupe that killed a 13-year-old near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Tom Brown)

Trader Joe’s recalls cashews amid salmonella concerns

A possible salmonella contamination has prompted Trader Joe’s to recall some cashews.

The grocery store chain issued a statement about the recall late last week, saying that one particular kind of Trader Joe’s Raw Cashew Pieces could be contaminated with the bacteria.

The cashews are marked “BEST BEFORE 07.17.2016TF4,” the company said, and were distributed to stores in 30 states across the country, as well as the District of Columbia.

It wasn’t clear exactly how many packages were included in the recall.

Trader Joe’s said it learned of the possible contamination from a supplier, but didn’t elaborate.

A recall notice on the Food and Drug Administration website says Heritage International (USA) Inc. was voluntarily recalling the cashew lot after routine lab tests found salmonella in it.

The bacteria can cause people to fall ill.

Trader Joe’s said it hasn’t received any reports of anyone getting sick from the cashews, though it has stopped selling all Trader Joe’s Raw Cashew Pieces in its stores pending an investigation.

The grocery chain encourages anyone who bought the cashews marked “BEST BEFORE 07.17.2016TF4” to return them for a full refund or throw them out without eating them.

According to the CDC, salmonella sickens about 1.2 million Americans every year. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps, and most people fully recover in 4 to 7 days. In extreme cases, though, infections can spread beyond the intestines and become more severe.

The bacteria leads to about 450 deaths and 19,000 hospitalizations every year, the CDC says. Children, older adults and people with weak immune systems are particularly at risk.

Major Food Recalls Due To Listeria Hit Midwest

If you purchased walnuts, hummus or dips in Missouri or Illinois between March and May 2014, you need to check some packaging.

Sherman Produce has announced an immediate recall of “Schnucks brand 10-ounce trays of walnuts” with the UPC code 00338390032 because the product could be contaminated with listeria.  The USDA detected listeria in walnuts that were sampled at the production facility.

Consumers are used to throw them away immediately or seek a refund.

Hot Mama’s Foods has recalled almost 15,000 pounds of hummus and dip products because of Listeria.   The items were sold at Target, Trader Joe’s and other retailers.

The listeria was discovered during a routine test by the Texas Department of Health.  Customers are advised not to eat the recalled products and return them to the place of purchase for a refund.  Customers can also call 1-877-550-0694 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.