CPSC, CBP Take Toy Safety to U.S. Ports

Playthings Staff -- Gifts and Dec, 11/29/2012 1:13:34 PM

PORT ELIZABETH, NJ - The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) CPSC investigators and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) inspectors are partnering at ports across the United States to keep families safe during this holiday toy shopping season.

At Port Elizabeth, the CPSC chairman, Inez Tenenbaum, and U.S. CBP Deputy Commissioner, David Aguilar, said that more than two million units of dangerous toys and other children's products were seized in 2012 and were prevented from reaching the hands of children. Throughout the past four years, CPSC and CBP have stopped more than 8.5 million units of about 2,400 different toys and children's products due to safety hazards or the failure to meet federal safety standards, according to a statement released today. They are urging parents to remain vigilant when making toy purchases and always keep safety at the top of their toy shopping list, according to a CPSC report.

"Proactive port surveillance, strong toy standards, and educational efforts create a safer holiday toy shopping experience for consumers by keeping dangerous products off store shelves," said Tenenbaum in a statement. "Ultimately our goal is to protect our most vulnerable population-kids-and keep them safe this holiday season."

Aguilar added, "Together with CPSC, we have intercepted record amounts of unsafe products. We are here to raise consumers' awareness about the very real danger of unsafe products and urge consumers to be vigilant when buying toys and children's products this holiday season."

In the 2012 fiscal year, the CPSC recalled 38 toys, three of which involved a lead violation. Toy recalls continued to decline since 2008, according to the CPSC. There were 172 recalls in fiscal year 2008, 50 recalls in fiscal year 2009, 46 toy recalls in fiscal year 2010, and 34 recalls in 2011. Most toy recalls in 2012 were due to small parts, choking hazards or sharp points.

Toy-related death reports to CPSC involving children younger than 15-years-old decreased to 13 in 2011 from19 fatalities in 2010 and 17 reported in 2009, according to the CPSC. The majority of these toy-related fatalities were attributed to asphyxiation, choking or drowning. These included children choking on balloons, drowning after trying to retrieve a toy from a swimming pool, or being found with tricycles in swimming pools, said the CPSC in a release today.

A new report released today by the CPSC today estimated 193,200 toy-related, emergency department-treated injuries to children younger than 15 years of age occurred in 2011. Many of the incidents were associated with, but not necessarily caused by, a toy. For children younger than 15-years-old, non-motorized scooters continued to be the category of toys associated with the most injuries. Frequently, these injuries involved lacerations, contusions, and abrasions to the child's face and head.

This year, the CPSC has also joined international safety agencies in Canada and Mexico to promote toy safety education and awareness. CPSC along with Health Canada and Mexico's Procuraduria Federal del Consumidor (PROFECO) have released toy safety tips for choosing, purchasing and supervising the use of children's toys.