Health Canada to probe safety of older strollers

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This article was published 28/07/2012 (5050 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Health Canada has launched a safety review of older strollers still being used in Canada after a massive U.S. recall of strollers due to a strangulation hazard.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Peg Perego USA announced earlier this week the recall of 230,000 Venezia and Pliko-P3 strollers manufactured between 2004 and 2007, revealing a six-month-old baby in California died in 2004 after his head became trapped between the seat and the tray of his Peg Perego stroller. A seven-month-old girl from New York was nearly strangled in 2006, they said.

The commission said strangulation can occur, especially to infants under the age of 12 months, when a child is not harnessed. The company also emphasized it was not notified of this “unfortunate death” until July 2010, triggering discussions with the U.S commission to find a solution that resulted in Tuesday’s recall in the U.S.

Free repair kits are available to prevent a baby’s head from becoming trapped.

In response to the U.S. recall, Health Canada issued a safety advisory Friday, saying it received a report of a death in 2006 involving a baby left unattended and unrestrained in a stroller.

The department stopped short of announcing a recall of similar models sold in Canada from 2004 to 2007, but said a safety review of older strollers will continue and could result in a recall. (The models of Peg Perego strollers recalled in the U.S. were not sold in Canada.)

In the meantime, Health Canada warned parents and caregivers of the risks posed by the improper use of strollers.

The department issued a similar stroller advisory in October 2010, emphasizing the fatal incident in 2006 “was not attributed to product failure. As a result, no correction action (i.e. a recall) has been requested by Health Canada.”

The Peg Perego strollers, made in Italy, were manufactured before voluntary industry standards were unveiled in January 2008. The guidelines, to which Peg Perego has adhered since the standards were brought in, address the height of the opening between a stroller’s tray and seat bottom.

In an interview Friday, CPSC spokeswoman Patty Davis said the company is doing the right thing in the wake of “new and better” stroller standards.

“At the time, it met the standard. In 2008, the standard changed so that the entire child’s body, including the head, must be able to fit through the leg area below the bar. And with these strollers, that wasn’t possible at that time,” said Davis.

“The standard changed and they’re going back and doing the right thing and recalling this product.”

Davis added the commission is also “going back and looking at fatalities prior to that standard in 2008 going into effect and trying to get remedies in place for consumers now.”

The U.S. recall notice, issued jointly by the CPSC and Peg Perego USA, also said parents and caregivers “are encouraged to always secure children by using the safety harness and never leave them unattended.”

 

— Postmedia News