Consumer Product Safety

On Mintz Levin’s Health Law and Policy Matters blog, our colleague Joanne Hawana discussed the August 7 Warning Letter sent by FDA to the drug company Duchesnay, Inc., after Kim Kardashian praised the company’s morning sickness pill Diclegis in an Instagram post.

On July 22, 2015, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and major furniture company IKEA jointly announced a “repair program” to address the serious and complex hazard of furniture tip-over posed by 27 million chests and dressers sold by the company.

As our readers know, we write about legal developments that affect companies involved in manufacturing, importing, distributing, and/or selling “consumer products.” In many cases, these products fall squarely within the jurisdiction of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Today the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015 passed the House, in a vote of 275 to 150 (more information here). Still a hot-button issue, opposition to the Act is emotionally charged, with those opposed to the bill calling it the “DARK” Act (Denying Americans the Right to Know Act).

Yesterday the CPSC and major furniture company IKEA jointly announced a “repair program” to address the serious and complex hazard of furniture tip over posed by 27 million chests and dressers sold by the company.

The proposed Federal regulation of GMOs is proceeding. Following the White House’s recent action on GMOs, Representative Pompeo’s “Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act” (H.R. 1599) was passed by the House Agriculture Committee on July 14.

The “toxic trio” is a foreboding name some associate with common and seemingly innocuous manicures and pedicures. Salon workers suffer higher-than-average rates of birth defects, miscarriages, cancers, and skin afflictions stemming from their daily use of nail products, many of which contain potentially harmful chemicals.

Last week, the White House waded into the GMO regulatory fray with the Office of Science and Technology Policy’s (OSTP) announcement of a major overhaul of GMO regulation.

So what is the CPSC’s “fast track recall” program and what is the benefit of participating in it? What is a “stop sale notice” and why does the CPSC generally request it for fast track recalls?

On June 2, 2015, the Suffolk County Legislature became the latest county legislature in New York to pass a “toxic-free toys” act. About a week later, the New York City Council got in on the action and introduced a similar bill.

On Wednesday of last week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that a complaint has been filed in federal court against Spectrum Brands, Inc. (Spectrum).

Acting to finalize a tentative decision from 2013, FDA announced on June 15, 2015 that it was issuing a declaratory order that will require manufacturers to remove partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) from processed foods over the next three years.

As many readers of this blog know, the start of 2011 saw the enactment of a massive bill aimed at overhauling the nation’s food safety system to become more preventive instead of reactive to safety problems and illness outbreaks.

Earlier this year, we wrote about a far-reaching product safety ordinance enacted into law in Albany County, NY (the “County”) entitled “The Toxic Free Toys Act.”

On Friday, Federal Magistrate Judge Mark D. Clarke partially dismissed a lawsuit brought by commercial alfalfa farmers seeking to overturn a Jackson County ordinance that banned the use of GMO seed stock (“It is a county violation for any person or entity to propagate, cultivate, raise, or grow genetically engineered plants within Jackson County.”).

Joining the rising tide of local GMO legislation, last week voters in Benton County, Oregon defeated the Benton County Local Food System Ordinance, which would have prohibited the cultivation of GMO crops in the county.

Currently, FDA regulates cosmetics to ensure they are not adulterated or misbranded, but does not have the authority to order cosmetic recalls or require adverse event reporting.  Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) seek to change that.

In its first step towards regulating nanoscale materials, EPA plans to impose a one-time electronic reporting and recordkeeping requirement under TSCA on manufacturers, importers and processors of particles ranging from 1-100 nanometers and exhibiting unique characteristics due to their size. 

As we wrote about earlier this month, on April 1, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit (“Tenth Circuit”) temporarily stayed the effective date of “the enforcement and effect” of the CPSC’s safety standard for certain high-powered magnet sets. 

We would like to share with our readers that our friend, colleague, and mentor Chuck Samuels, Chair of Mintz Levin’s Consumer Products Safety Practice, received the Chairman’s Partnership Award from the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers (AHAM) at their annual meeting last week.