March 2011 Product Recalls

March 2011 Product Recalls

March recalls
Thousands of items and food products that Americans use regularly are pulled off the market by retailers and producers every day due to serious potential hazards like bacterial diseases, injuries to children and poisoning.
Including children's toys, food and over-the-counter items, here's a roundup of the biggest recalls in March.

Food Products
About 2,659 pounds of peppermint organic herbal tea were recalled because of a potential contamination; the product was distributed nationwide in Teavana retail stores and through mail and Internet orders. No injuries were reported.

Additional recalls

Packages of tempura seafood batter mix (find out why) distributed in several states beginning late October 2010.

Jars of Skippy Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter (the health risk) distributed in several states. Have any illnesses been reported?

About 158 pounds of in-shell, bulk and packaged hazelnuts and mixed nuts with hazelnuts due to potential contamination distributed nationwide.

Packaged coconut water with a sell-by date of May 1, 2011.

Containers of chocolate milk because of contamination with a sell-by date of March 22, 2011.

Cans of organic garbanzo beans.

Children's Products
About 5,000 wooden playpens (one of the potential dangers) sold at AOSOM.com, Amazon.com, eBay.com and other online retailers from October 2008 through November 2010. Several incidents have been reported.

About 1,545 baby jogger jump seats sold at mass merchandisers nationwide and online from January 2008 through July 2010. Injuries have been reported.

Children's toys and clothing
About 14,000 rattles (find out the dangers) sold at a major toy retailer and other specialty stores nationwide from April 2010 through December 2010 have been taken off the market. Any injuries?

Additional recalls
About 57,000 holiday rattle baby slippers. Find out about incidents.
About 3,600 hooded sweatshirts (why they are dangerous). No injuries have been reported.
About 1,800 Halloween costumes sold at novelty stores in 2010.
About 1,600 girls' jeans for toddlers sold from May through June 2010.
About 1,400 wooden puzzles sold from November 2010 through February 2011.
About 1,500 girls' dresses sold in February 2011. Find out about incidents.
About 400 wooden activity toys sold from December 2010 through February 2011. Any incidents reported?

OTC products
An urgent nationwide recall of antiseptic wipes (here's why) follows an earlier nationwide recall of Triad alcohol prep pads and swabs due to potential contamination.

Raw Vitamin C dietary supplement due to undeclared ingredients distributed between March 2009 and January 2011. Any illnesses reported?

Meat and seafood products
About 64,000 pounds of chicken and pork products (here's why), which were shipped to retail distribution centers in several Western states are declared no longer safe.

Additional recalls
About 14,000 pounds of ground beef because of a potentially deadly contamination.
About 10,260 pounds of frozen spaghetti and meatball entrees.
About 2,997 pounds of bologna products due to a potential contamination.
About 775 pounds of chicken and mushroom pie products.
Large-mouth smelt (life-threatening contamination) imported from Japan and sold in several states.
About 5, 125 pounds of honey-cured turkey sticks sold at certain institutions.
About 612 pounds of pork products (find out why) sold in February and March.

Electrical items
Swedish retailer Ikea has issued a recall for about 94,000 coffee and tea makers (potential injury?) sold nationwide from January 2010 through December 2010.

Additional recalls
About 4.8 million Lasko box fans. Lasko has received seven reports of fires associated with motor failures.
About 9,700 lantern nightlights. Find out if any incidents were reported.
About 2,500 surge protectors sold from June 2009 through December 2010.
About 7,460 slow cookers sold from June 2010 through December 2010. About 6,000 wall-mount fireplaces (the hazard). Find out if any injuries have been reported.
About 3,200 natural gas log set burners sold from August 2007 through December 2010. Learn about the reported incidents.
About 5,000 workbench parts sold from January 2009 through December 2010. Any incidents reported?

Vehicles
About 65,000 2009-2010 Mazda6 Sedans have been taken off the market in the U.S., Canada and Mexico for one of the most bizarre recall reasons yet. To blame are gas-loving creepy crawlers (see what they look like). Have any incidents been reported?

Additional recalls
Toyota is recalling 22,000 2008-20011 FJ Cruiser, Land Cruiser, Sequoia, Tacoma and Tundra models.
About 36,356 2006-2007 Honda Civic Hybrid cars.
About 29,000 Suzuki KingQuad ATVs.
About 20,459 2010-2011 Chrysler Jeep Wranglers.
General Motors recalled 10,000 2011 Buick LaCrosse and Cadillac SRX vehicles.
About 4,300 dirt bikes sold exclusively at Pep Boys from December 2010 through January 2011. Learn about associated injuries.
About 1,350 Suzuki QuadSport ATVs.

Consumer products
About 229,000 fitness resistance tubes (find out why) sold from October 2009 through November 2010. Injuries have been reported.

Additional recalls
About 159,000 wine openers sold exclusively on QVC. Several injuries have been reported.
About 79,000 beaded door curtains (here's why) sold exclusively at a discount retailer from January 2009 through May 2010. See what they look like. Find out about injuries.
About 63,000 door locksets sold nationwide April 2010 through January 2011.
About 20,000 outdoor wood-burning fireplaces sold exclusively at a home improvement stores nationwide from March 2010 through November 2010. Find out about incidents and injuries.
About 5,702 built-in refrigerators sold from February 2004 through January 2011. How many reports has the company received?
About 1,800 mini-tin candle travel sets sold at Tommy Bahama retail stores nationwide and online from November 2010 through January 2011. Learn about incidents reported.
Steel flasks sold in gift sets since 2006 due to a potential health risk.
About 169,000 pogo sticks.
About 3,400 backpack blowers sold from 2008 through February 2011.

Pet food
Approximately 2,705 boxes of Pig Ears dog chews due to potential contamination.

Certain lots of Wellpet canned cat food.


Source:Specials

More about → March 2011 Product Recalls

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Five Offbeat Cars Coming in 2011

Strange experiments are happening in the auto industry.
Companies are cross-pollinating different types of vehicles to create new breeds, and the results are sometimes perplexing.
For example, Nissan has turned its pudgy Murano into a convertible. Meanwhile, Range Rover is trying to show some concern for the environment by offering its smallest, most car-like SUV ever, the Evoque.
Both the Murano and Evoque are considered “crossovers,” which by definition are a mixed bag to begin with: They blend attributes of SUVs, wagons and minivans. So it seems these new variations represent the next level of crossing over.
The line between different kinds of cars is also getting hazier, driven in part by a focus on making smaller cars more appealing. Both Hyundai and Scion are launching compact cars that stray from the norm in terms of seating and overall packaging. The intention is to make them more practical and thus appeal to a wider audience.
Of the new vehicles coming in 2011, here are five that don’t quite fit typical moulds.

Ferrari FF

Ferrari FF

Graft the rear end of a station wagon onto a sports car and you get the Ferrari FF.
The FF is supposed to be Ferrari’s most practical model, a supercar the whole family can enjoy. It has four seats and a decently sized trunk, which is why the rear end is designed the way it is.


It will also be the first Ferrari ever to have all-wheel drive. The name “FF” is an acronym that stands for “four seats” and “four-wheel drive.” This car replaces the 612 Scaglietti, which until it ceased production at the end of 2010 was Ferrari’s largest model and the only one with a back seat.

The Ferrari FF’s V12 engine puts out 660 horespower and is good for 0 to 62 mph in 3.7 seconds, Ferrari says.

Actually, the FF’s body style is not without precedent — it’s just obscure. Lamborghini’s Espada from the late 1960s and ’70s had a roof that stretched back like a wagon’s to accommodate a rear seat and trunk. A more recent example is the BMW Z3 Coupe, which — unlike the Ferrari and Lambo — only had two seats.

Here’s a piece of trivia: This type of sporty, stubby wagon is called a “shooting brake” in Europe.

Hyundai Veloster

Hyundai Veloster
Hyundai wants this little hatchback to be as cool as a Mini Cooper but more affordable and practical.
While styling and cool factor are subjective, it does have a larger interior and trunk than the Mini.

What makes it odd is that it has one door on the driver side and two doors on the passenger side. The idea was to keep the shape of a sporty two-door, but to add a rear door on the passenger side for easier access to the back seat.

Hyundai used motorcycles as a design inspiration: The car’s wraparound windshield resembles a helmet visor, and the center console is in the shape of a motorcycle’s gas tank.

A 138-hp four-cylinder engine should make the lightweight Veloster pretty peppy. Hyundai expects it to get 40 mpg on the highway. The car goes on sale this summer.

Nissan Murano

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

This bulky convertible SUV-type thing comes across much better in person than in photos. It will appeal to yuppies who like drop-tops but don’t care for sports cars and the compromises they bring in comfort and convenience.
Nissan is setting modest sales targets for the Murano CrossCabriolet, which shows the company is being realistic about its potential.

Several of the journalists who saw the Murano CrossCabriolet on display at an event in December thought Nissan was crazy for creating it. One even said he wouldn’t be caught behind the wheel and so wouldn’t be test driving it. A Nissan rep at the same event said consumers have responded positively to it.

Say what you will of the design, in person the car looks and feels high end, with a well appointed interior and power-folding fabric top. The trunk and back seat had to be shrunk, and the rear doors are gone to accommodate the convertible roof. Other than that, the specs are similar to a regular Murano.

Range Rover Evoque Coupe

Range Rover Evoque Coupe

The Evoque is Range Rover’s first vehicle aimed at environmentally conscious young drivers; and for a company that has only ever built large, expensive, gas-guzzling SUVs with go-anywhere capability, it’s a huge deal.
In fact, the only reason (or at least the main reason) the Evoque isn’t a car, is because Range Rover refuses to build anything but SUVs for fear of tainting its image. Rightly so.

The Evoque is Range Rover’s smallest, lightest SUV ever. Depending on how it’s configured, it can weigh up to 728 pounds less than the U.S. version of the Land Rover LR2, currently the company’s smallest SUV. Plastic front fenders and an aluminum hood and roof help keep weight down. Opting for front-wheel drive — a first on a Range Rover, and something that would’ve been unthinkable five years ago — instead of the standard four-wheel drive saves 165 pounds.

Its silhouette and overall styling are intentionally car-like — particularly on the two-door model — and much sleeker than the company’s blocky SUVs. The Evoque has been tuned to drive like a sporty luxury sedan on the road. Its four-cylinder engine is small for a Range Rover, so it’s turbocharged to produce a lot of power for its size (240 hp).

Four-door and two-door versions of the Evoque go on sale this fall. Land Rover expects “well equipped” models to sell for around $45,000.

Scion IQ

Scion iQ


The Scion iQ is like a mash-up between a Scion xD and a Smart Fortwo.
From the outside, it appears to be a two seater, but there’s actually room in back for one adult and a child. Scion calls it “3 + 1” seating.

That’s because the rear seats aren’t symmetrical — the one on the right is larger than the one on the left. The idea is that the front occupant can move forward to make more room for an adult in back, while a truncated seat behind the driver can accommodate a kid.

It’s a creative use of space and the sort of thing we’re probably going to see more of as cars inevitably get smaller.

The Scion iQ is powered by a tiny four-cylinder engine that produces around 90 hp. As if to preempt any questions around safety, Scion is touting 10 airbags on the iQ, including one that covers the rear window, which the company says is a first.

Scion’s parent company Toyota already sells the iQ in other markets. It goes on sale in the United States this spring.
Read More: Yahoo

More about → Five Offbeat Cars Coming in 2011

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