Bibs Recall

I'm cutting and pasting the article from my local newspaper website:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Wal-Mart Stores pulled sets of baby bibs Wednesday from its shelves nationwide after the bibs tested positive for high levels of lead, a store official said.

The bibs, sold under the Baby Connection brand name, came in packs of two to seven bibs, with embroidered prints or images of Sesame Street characters. Some were sold as long ago as 2004. The bibs were made by Hamco Inc. exclusively for the Bentonville-based retailer.

Mia Masten, a Chicago-based spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, said the vinyl portion of the bibs exceeded the lead levels set by Illinois for children's products. She said the company had worked with the Illinois attorney general's office to pull the items and later decided to expand the recall nationwide.

NO REPORTED INJURIES

Masten said about 60,000 of the bib bundles were sold in Illinois without any reported injuries.

"We at Wal-Mart are committed to working ... to develop industry standards for the elimination of vinyl in children's products," Masten said.

Masten said officials with the world's largest retailer have been in contact with Hamco. She referred all questions about the products' manufacturing to Hamco.

Officials at Hamco, a subsidiary of Crown Crafts of Gonzales, La., said the company had no comment, and they referred questions to Wal-Mart.

The Illinois attorney general's office identified bibs sold between June 2004 to the end of March this year in Wal-Mart stores throughout the state. Tests there on three styles of the bibs tested positive for lead more than 600 parts per million, the state's standard for lead in children's products, said Robyn Ziegler, spokeswoman with the attorney general's office.

"It's a PVC product," Ziegler said. "The lead in that product makes the vinyl softer."

LIMITED REFUNDS

While Wal-Mart pulled the product from its shelves nationwide, Masten said only customers in Illinois would be eligible to receive refunds or replacements. It wasn't immediately clear why the refunds only pertained to Illinois.

Initially, Masten said the recall only pertained to Illinois. Later Wednesday, she said it was nationwide.

Wal-Mart's recall comes after a lawsuit over the bibs by the Center for Environmental Health, based in Oakland, Calif. Alexa Engelman, a researcher there, said the center became aware of the bibs in September. Engelman said a report by an independent laboratory test contracted by the center showed the bibs contained 16 times the amount of lead allowed in paint.

EFFECTS OF LEAD

Lead, used as a stabilizer in vinyl plastic, can be "easily substituted" for other products, Engelman said. She said the bibs' manufacturing tags show they were made in China.

"The lead doesn't need to be in there and it's not hard for these companies to take it out," she said. "In this case, we really feel like getting the products off of the shelf is an important first step and an important step to protect kids."

Public health experts consider elevated levels of lead in blood a significant health hazard for children. Studies have repeatedly shown that childhood exposure to lead can lead to learning problems, reduced intelligence, hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder. There is no lead level that is considered safe in blood, and recent studies have shown adverse health effects even at very low levels.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a statement Wednesday saying that the bibs were safe if in good condition. However, if a bib "deteriorates to the point that a baby could pull or bite off and swallow a piece of vinyl containing the lead, then the amounts of lead consumed could approach levels of concern," the agency said.

Those who purchased the bibs in Illinois can return them at their local Wal-Mart for a full refund or can receive a free replacement by calling (877) 373-3812 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. CDT.

 

Thanks for the info.

 

Thank you for the info! I'm in IL & we buy all our bibs at walmart! I'm sure I have these.

 

I thought I might have these bibs too, so I did a search for a description or picture. I don't think I have them luckily - although we do have ones that sound exactly like it, but without the plastic backing. Here's what I found if you're interested!

Baby Connection 2-Pack Easy Wipe The Baby Connection 2-Pack Easy Wipe
Bibs (UPC No. 01468152705) Bibs contain two bibs per unit, each
with a textile back, laminated with
clear plastic front and having a
clear plastic pocket at the bottom of
the front of the bib. The textile
backing, visible through the clear
plastic lamination, is imprinted with
multiple patterns and colors.


Baby Connection 7-Pack Feeder The Baby Connection 7-Pack Feeder
Bibs (UPC No. 01468151077) Bibs contains seven bibs per unit,
each with a textile terry cloth
front, and white plastic sewn to the
back. The textile terry cloth front
comes in multiple colors with
multiple embroidered prints.


Baby Connection 2-Pack Feeder The Baby Connection 2-Pack Feeder
Bibs (UPC No. 01468102732). Bibs contains 2 bibs per unit, each
with a textile terry cloth front, and
white plastic sewn to the back. The
textile terry cloth front comes in
multiple colors with multiple prints
of various Sesame Street characters
like Big Bird, Elmo & Cookie Monster.

 

So is it only the ones with plastic backing??? I just bought some bibs from Walmart a couple weeks ago but they dont have the plastic backing on them.

 

I have the ones without the plastic backing too. According to the descriptions, it's only the ones with the plastic. I think the lead issue is in the plastic itself... at least as far as I can tell from the news articles!

 

Yes, from what i saw on the news it's just the vinyl backed bibs. I actually have & have been using the 7 pack bibs on this recall list. YIKES!