Recently in Product Recalls Category

Romaine lettuce is involved in yet another E. Coli outbreak, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issues its most broad warning to date. Do not eat romaine of any kind -- neither bagged nor head, nor boxed romaine mixed with other leafy greens. Not in a restaurant or at home. Regardless of expiration date, and regardless of whether you have already eaten parts and feel great. The warning also extends to our Canadian neighbors to the north.

We've all heard the phrase "worst case scenario," and we've probably often conjured up such scenarios. Power going out during the big game. Breaking down on a desert highway in the middle of nowhere. The toilet exploding when you flush it.

Wait, what?

According to Flushmate, its II 501-B pressure-assisted flushing systems have a flaw. And that flaw involves bursting at the weld seam and releasing high pressure, enough to lift the tank lid and shatter the tank. So, yeah -- worst case scenario for anyone flushing the toilet.

Frosted glass keeps falling on my head ... that's what owners of Ikea's Calypso frosted ceiling lamps must be humming.

To avoid potentially serious injuries from its falling ceiling lamps, Ikea has now issued a recall.

King Bio recalled 32 of its children's medicines after a small percentage of the items tested positive for microbial contamination. This isn't King Bio's first rodeo on the recall circuit. The company voluntarily recalled other products due to microbial contamination earlier this year, including one product for baby teething soother, another for yeast infections, and also a product to help with discomfort in the lymphatic system.

Westminster Pharmaceuticals has voluntarily recalled a hypothyroid medication after its Sichuan supplier's plant failed Federal Drug Administration (FDA) inspection. The alert states that Levothyroxine and Liothronine, two synthetic hormones used in the thyroid tablets, were manufactured in a plant that the FDA warns had a number of manufacturing failures including ones related to "established standards of quality and purity." No adverse events have been linked to the drugs to date.

In yet another salmonella outbreak, Pepperidge Farms has voluntarily recalled 3.3 million packages of Goldfish Crackers due to potentially contaminated whey product. All salmon and goldfish jokes aside ...

A recent outbreak of salmonella linked to Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal led to a recall of 1.3 million boxes, but it is widely believed that there are even more contaminated boxes out in the public. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has made it very clear to consumers -- "Do not eat Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal of any size package or with any 'best if used by' date." They tweeted it even more bluntly -- "Do not eat this cereal."

So it's clear that we shouldn't be eating nor feeding our loved ones Honey Smacks. But what isn't so clear is what to do if you get sick from a salmonella outbreak.

A salmonella outbreak that spread to 70 cases across seven states has been tied to fruit salad mixes that include pre-cut melons, according to the Food and Drug Administration. At least 34 people have been hospitalized due to the illness, and the FDA is advising consumers to avoid recalled fresh cut watermelon, honeydew melon, and cantaloupe, as well as fruit medley products containing any of these melons.

Product liability law helps to keep consumers safe from products that have design defects, manufacturing defects, or don't provide sufficient warnings. When a company realizes that a product it provides to consumers has a defect, it usually issues a recall.

The realization can occur after people have already been injured by the defective product, or before any reported injuries. Luckily, Kidde, a well-known brand in fire prevention, has been able to identify a manufacturing defect in its smoke alarms before any reported injuries and has now issued a recall of close to 500,000 smoke alarms.

Under product liability laws, companies generally have a duty to protect consumers from potential dangers. That's why when a company discovers that there's a defect in one of their products, it issues a recall. While any type of product can be recalled for defects, it seems that the most common recalls involve food and cars.

The most recent recall involves cars made by Ford Motor Company. More specifically, Ford has issued a recall of 1.4 million vehicles in North America for steering wheel bolts that can potentially become loose.