Recently in Product Recalls Category

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.

What wouldn't you do for your four-legged best friend? 

The connection we share with dogs makes it especially scary to find out that your constant companion (or at the very least furry friend) could suffer because of something you feed them. Unfortunately, that's the latest scoop in a series of dog food recalls, initiated as a result of the euthanasia drug pentobarbital being found in canned dog food manufactured by the J.M. Smucker Company.

Bagel Breakfasters beware. The bakery-cafe chain Panera Bread is voluntarily recalling a chunk of its cream cheese products sold nationwide, after a sample tested positive for listeria. The voluntary recall is preventive, and (to date) there have been no reports of illness linked to the company's creamy spreads.

Thousands of products -- from ice cream to car steering wheels -- get recalled every year. And the FDA has a classification for those recalls, based on the injury risk posed by a defective product. Class I recalls are reserved for the most dangerous of defective products: "a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of or exposure to a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death."

That's the type of recall the FDA issued for a heart device made by a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary, claiming to a faulty valve can allow excess blood to leak into the heart or cause embolisms.

A shocking recall has just been issued by the CSPC and the largest player in the consumer fire extinguisher market, Kidde. The company is recalling close to 40 million fire extinguishers, some of which may be over a decade old at this point. According to media reports, there have been 16 injuries and one death related to the defective extinguishers.

If you don't know what brand of fire extinguishers you own, it could actually save your life to check to see if you are affected by the recall. The recalled fire extinguishers reportedly can malfunction, or become clogged, effectively making them a serious hazard, and putting your life at risk if you try to use it to fight a fire.

To find out if you're affected by the recall, read on.

The kind of case you have on your smartphone has become almost as important as the kind of phone itself. You're not just keeping your iPhone safe from the odd slip or spill; you're making a statement. But what if that statement isn't keeping you safe?

Hundreds of thousands of iPhone cases have been recalled after customers suffered chemical burns when the cases broke, leaking glitter and liquid. How do you find out if you're walking around with one of the dangerous cases in your pocket or purse?

Last Friday, Fiat Chrysler announced a rather serious recall for their Dodge Ram pickup trucks. The problem has been linked to one death and two other injuries. The newest recall comes just one month after a rather minor recall was announced due to incorrect warnings on the sun visors of the 2014-2017 Ram ProMaster vehicles.

The latest recall however is not so minor and can lead to fatal injuries. The problem was discovered after the company was sued as a result of a rollover accident. The software on a computer control module linked to the collision safety system is prone to malfunction. The malfunction can cause air bags to not deploy, and seat belts to not tighten up, during an accident. This is of particular concern because pickup trucks are generally more prone to dangerous rollover accidents.

In yet another undeclared food allergen recall this year, Trader Joe's announced last week that one of their mochi ice cream products may contain undeclared peanuts. The company issued a voluntary recall on the "Chocolate Chocolate Mochi Ice Cream" produced by Mikawaya and sold nationwide in their stores. 

Since the recall, all affected products have been removed from store shelves. Consumers who may have purchased the mochi affected by the recall can return the product to any Trader Joe's store for a refund. However, individuals who do not have allergies to peanuts are free to consume the product as it poses no other health risk (other than being ice cream).

For those that drink Bombay Sapphire gin, whether socially, recreationally, or professionally, a recent recall prompted by the company is bound to raise some flummoxed eyebrows. Apparently, one unhappy customer and gin connoisseur noticed that his bottle of gin did not meet his expectations (which clearly were not to get drunk quickly and cheaply) and he contacted the company to let them know.

What happened next probably isn't going to shock you as you probably could've guessed based on the title: it was discovered that Bombay Sapphire had inadvertently messed up the mixture on a small batch of bottles. Rather than the usual 40 percent alcohol content, the special mis-mixed batch came out at an ultra-flammable 77 percent alcohol, or 154 proof.