Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization, expressed concern that a California firm producing baby neck floats had declined to issue a recall despite warnings from two federal agencies and a case of a baby drowning while using the product.
Instances of Injury, Including One Fatality
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has received 68 complaints of incidents using the Otteroo, an inflatable flotation ring meant for infants as young as three weeks.
Consumer Reports found that adults constantly had to intervene to save the lives of their babies. According to the consumer advocacy and media group, the CPSC, many of the babies in the incident reports did not suffer any permanent harm, but some did need hospital visits, CPR, or intubation.
The CPSC claims that a 6-month-old baby in Maine drowned three years ago after slipping through the neck opening of an Otteroo neck float. Last year, the agency said a 3-month-old in New York suffered serious injuries in a similar incident.
Founder of Otteroo, Tiffany Chiu, told CBS that babies may slide out of other items, such as bath seats. Thus, parental monitoring is essential.
"In any situation in or near water, whether a child is using an Otteroo or not, the potential for accidents exists ... It could be a child slipping out of a bath seat or even from a parent's hands. It's crucial to remember that the key to mitigating such risks is attentive, active supervision," Chiu explained.
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Unrealistic, Impossible Standard?
In the last year, both the CPSC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued warnings telling parents to avoid using neck floats. The regulators are unable to require Otteroo to recall its neck floats despite recommendations that the products pose a danger of strangling if they deflate and begin to tighten around a baby's neck.
Chiu said any toy that deflates might pose a danger to a youngster. "Unfortunately, CPSC has singled out Otteroo and ignored thousands of other inflatable children's products on the market, and has imposed an unrealistic and impossible standard that our float should not carry the risk of deflation."
Policy counsel for Consumer Reports Oriene Shin told CBS that the organization targeted Otteroo because it is the most widely used neck float brand, and the manufacturer has been reluctant to issue a recall.
The infant neck float market is crowded, with offerings from firms like Mambobaby and Swimava. However, Shin stated that those companies do not have the same brand recognition as Otteroo.
Shin pointed out that businesses seldom issue a recall unless there is irrefutable evidence a product poses serious health risks. The makers of infant goods could be in jeopardy if that happens.
"That means they need to see more babies and children get injured and die, and that's just unacceptable to me ... We can't wait for additional data to hold companies accountable and keep babies safe," Shin argued.
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