Recalls in March 2007

March 27, 2007
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ordered the recall of 222 Bentley Arnage R, RL and T luxury automobiles because the wheels might fall off.

"On certain vehicles," according to NHTSA, "the road wheel fixing bolts may be dimensionally incorrect. The potential exists for these bolts to loosen," according to federal safety regulators.

NHTSA goes on to warn that loose and dimensionally incorrect fixing bolts "could lead to the road wheel becoming detached from the hub increasing the risk of a crash."

Bentley dealers will replace all of the wheel bolts free of charge, according to NHTSA.

Owners may contact Bentley Motors Ltd. at 248-754-6464.

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

Ford Motor Co. has ordered dealers to stop selling the new Super Duty pickup with the 6.4-liter diesel engine and is recalling more than 37,000 of the 2008 F-Series trucks after reported tailpipe fires in the diesel version of the pickups.

Ford has received three reports of flames shooting out of tailpipes after either fuel or oil leaked into an area of the exhaust system where diesel particulates are burned off to meet emissions requirements, according to a Ford spokesman.

In Texas, one Super Duty diesel's hot tailpipe set grass fire when the driver pulled off the road, according to Ford. The fire was quickly put out and no one was hurt.

"This is an important product for us and an important customer base, and we want to move swiftly to make sure this does not become a safety issue for our customers," Ford spokesman Dan Jarvis said.

The heavy-duty work truck is an important aspect of financial recovery at Ford as the automaker tries to pull itself out of $12.7 billion in red ink from last year.

Ford dealers have an inventory on hand of roughly 29,000 Super Duty trucks with the 6.4-liter diesel engine. Sales of the hot selling truck will not resume until the engine control software can be updated.

The software upgrade resets the Super Duty powertrain control module on the Ford trucks to recognize improper levels of heat in the exhaust system. If heat is detected the system will power down the truck so the driver can pull to the side of the road and allow the truck to cool off.

Ford estimates the software can be modified during ten minute procedure. Super Duty trucks that have not been shipped from their assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky will receive the engine control software update at the plant.

Customers with the first 8,400 diesel Super Duty trucks already on the roads will be notified that they should bring their vehicles into dealerships for the software update.

Ford will send out a recall notice to customers in April and dealers will contact consumers as soon as possible to warn them of the potential problem.

Gasoline-powered versions of the Super Duty and previous model-year diesel trucks with 6.0-liter or 7.3-liter engines are not affected by the recall.

Almost 70 percent of the Super Duty trucks sold are equipped with diesel engines.

The defect in the fuel pump could cause the engine to stop and fail to restart, according to a Honda spokesman. No accidents have been reported as a result of the faulty fuel pump.

Vehicles involved in the recall include the Accord, Accord hybrid, Odyssey, Acura TL, Acura RL, Acura TSX vehicles from the 2005 model year and some 2006 Honda Ridgeline pickups.

The cost of the recall is still unknown.

March 15, 2007
Children's Necklaces sold exclusively at Claire's Stores are being recalled because of a lead poisoning hazard.

The recalled necklaces contain high levels of lead. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

The recalled children's necklaces have metal pendants shaped as monkeys, dolphins, and frogs holding colored marbles, a fleur de lis painted in various colors, a silver and black fairy, silver-colored letters "BFF" with rhinestones, and tiny handcuffs painted in various colors. The pendants hang from silver-colored chains. "Claire's" or "Claire's best friends forever" is printed on the packaging.

The necklaces were sold by Claire's retail stores nationwide from December 2005 through December 2006 for between $5 and $11.

Consumers should immediately take this recalled jewelry away from children. Consumers should return the recalled jewelry to any Claire's store for a full refund or a free replacement product.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Claire's Boutiques Inc. toll-free at (866) 859-9281 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.claires.com.

The recall is being conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).

The cracks have been reported in a small percentage of the steel wheels on 2003 to 2005 Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptors. The wheels were covered by a Ford extended warranty program, according to a company executive.

Ford notified the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the problem stating that the cracks can form near the weld line that connects the rim to the wheel disk.

Ford dealers will inspect and replace the wheels and the spare as needed.

The Crown Victoria Police Interceptors involved in the recall were built from October 10, 2001, through December 8, 2004.

Police departments should call Ford at 800-392-3673 or contact their local dealers to see if the recall applies to their cars.

This is the second Ford recall involving wheels on the Police Interceptor. In August 2003, Ford recalled wheels on the cars and extended the wheel warranties.

Police departments have reported two crashes which they attributed to the wheel problem, according to a Ford spokesman but the automaker is disputing the reports. No one was injured in the either crash

The Crown Victoria is a favorite of many police departments even after the Police Interceptor was the subject of a 2003 debate over whether its rear gas tank was vulnerable to rupture in accidents.

Several police department officials charged officers needlessly died in fires following a crash in the cruiser because of a design flaw in the vehicle fuel system. Ford agreed to offer shields for gas tanks on police cruisers.

In light of all that's happened the last few weeks, it may be surprising that peanut butter was invented by a doctor.

A St. Louis physician developed it in 1890, looking for a protein source that could be easily digested. It was widely sold as a nutrition supplement for years and was a big hit in 1904 at the St. Louis World's Fair.

The modern, non-separating version was invented in 1922 by Joseph L. Rosefield, and became a popular lunch for schoolchildren, although today many schools prohibit food containing peanut products because of the rising incidence of severe peanut allergies in children.

Both peanut butter and jelly were packed with United States Army K-rations in World War II. The combination proved so popular that returning GIs made peanut butter and jelly a standard American food.

George Washington Carver, an African American botanical researcher at the Tuskegee Institute, was a leading spokesman for the peanut industry in the early 20th Century. Had he invented peanut butter, it would probably have been called goober butter.

"Goober" is the African name for peanuts. Slaves being brought to America were fed goobers to keep them alive during the brutal crossings. Goobers remained popular with slaves, who ate them both for nutrition and for a small touch of their lost homeland.

Though Carver didn't invent peanut butter, he did develop more than 300 byproducts including oil, gums, resins, and pectin, thus creating a market for the peanuts grown by southern farmers, whom he called "his people," according to Mary Alice Powell, writing in the Toledo Blade.

By the way, Powell, the paper's former food editor, includes a recipe for those who have a food blender and want to make their own peanut butter rather than trust Peter Pan and other packaged brands.

Obviously, you want to have healthy peanuts. Blend one cup of shelled peanuts with 1 1/2 to 3 tablespoons of oil. Blending time depends on whether the results will be crunchy or smooth and that, Powell notes, is always good for debate.

The death of a West Virginia woman may be linked to Salmonella-infested Peter Pan peanut butter, bringing to three the unofficial death toll from one of the nation's largest outbreaks of food poisoning.

Mary Halstead, 85, of Weston, WV, died Jan. 10 after becoming ill on December 23, 2006, according to her son, Larry Halstead.

Salmonella is especially toxic to children, the elderly, pregnant women and individuals with chronic illnesses and compromised immune systems.

"Her doctors didn't ever test her for Salmonella because nobody had heard anything about any of this at the time," Halstead told ConsumerAffairs.com. "Her doctor said he couldn't figure out why the antibiotics they gave her weren't working."

Halstead said his mother became ill after eating a peanut butter sandwich, one of her favorite foods. During her hospitalization at Stonewall Jackson Memorial Hospital in Weston, she repeatedly asked the staff to serve her a peanut butter sandwich but they refused, saying peanut butter was not on their standard menu.

"So, dumb old me, I made her a peanut butter sandwich at home and brought it to her at the hospital, because it was just about the only thing she wanted to eat," Larry Halstead said. "In no time, she got just 100% worse." Halstead said his mother then became semi-comatose and died.

After his mother's death, Halstead heard the news of the Salmonella infestation and looked at the jar of peanut butter he had used to make his mother's sandwich. It was Peter Pan peanut butter with the "2111" serial number.

"The death certificate says she died of congestive heart failure due to complications of pneumonia but she died of eating peanut butter," Halstead said. "She was in good health for her age until this all started."

Halstead said his mother "suffered something awful" during her last days and said he is considering taking legal action.

Other Deaths

Two other deaths have been unofficially attributed to the tainted peanut butter.

An elderly Chicago area man, George Baldwin, was said to be in relatively good health just before his recent death from complications of food poisoning, shortly after he ate a peanut butter sandwich.

"He puts the peanut butter on toast, eats the toast, in six hours he develops fever, nausea, diarrhea and vomiting -- all of which are signs of salmonella poisoning," Baldwin family attorney Don McGarrah said.

A 76-year old Pennsylvania woman, Roberta Barkay of Philadelphia, died in January from complications of food poisoning, and family members contend she too ate peanut butter shortly before her death. The family has hired an attorney who has filed suit against the manufacturer, ConAgra.

Colombian Complaint

Today brought the first indications that contaminated food from the Georgia plant may have been exported to other countries.

A Colombian man said he bought a jar of Peter Pan peanut butter on Feb. 10 because his five-year-old daughter was fond of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She became ill with diarrhea and other symptoms last week and the family stopped feeding her peanut butter.

"To my suprise i was watching CNN news in English when I heard that the FDA was warning consumers about the salmonella in Peter Pan peanut butter," said the girl's father, Juan Sebastian OrdoAtez. "And to add to this surprise the lid of the jar I still have has the number 21111."

Sebastian OrdoAtez said he contacted the store where he bought the peanut butter and was put in touch with the importer, which told him that any laboratory tests would be at his own expense.

"I think these people are not really interested in our health," he said in his complaint to ConsumerAffairs.com.

China is recalling U.S. peanut butter, according to state-run media. China imported three batches of the two peanut butter brands in September and December of 2006 and January of 2007, totaling 742 cases, the official Xinhua News Agency said.

At least 156 cases have already been sold in Beijing, it said. Xinhua did not say if there had been any reports of people getting sick from the peanut butter.

Investigation Widens

The Food and Drug Administration reports that its inspectors have found salmonella samples at ConAgra's Georgia plant and, as the investigation of salmonella-tainted peanut butter widens, the recall has spread to ice cream manufacturers and a wholesale retailer of a peanut butter dessert topping.

Inspectors found salmonella samples at ConAgra's Sylvester, Georgia, plant, where the recalled Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter was made, FDA said. At the same time, the agency said peanut butter from the contaminated plant was spread to at least one other plant, located in Tennessee.

It was at the Humboldt, Tenn., plant that peanut butter was processed for ice cream and dessert toppings.

The FDA says the fact that its inspectors found Salmonella in the plant environment further suggests that the contamination likely took place prior to the product reaching consumers.

Last week, tests by several states identified Salmonella in many open jars of Peter Pan and Great Value peanut butter recovered from consumers. In these instances, the Salmonella found in the plant and in the open jars matched the outbreak strain recovered from consumers who became ill.

The following products were used by the affected businesses until Feb. 16, 2007 when the products were recalled:

• Sonic Brand Ready-To-Use Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10.5 oz cans.
• Carvel Peanut Butter Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans.

The following Carvel products, purchased before Feb. 16, 2007 can be returned to a Carvel outlet for a refund:
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Peanut Butter Treasure
• Peanut Butter & Jelly
• Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher
• Any other customized products containing the Peanut Butter Topping, including peanut butter flavored ice cream in ice cream cakes
• J. Hungerford Smith Peanut Butter Dessert Topping in 6 lb. 10 oz. cans. The topping is used by retail outlets and restaurants nationwide but is not available for direct purchase by the public, the FDA said.

Carvel's Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Sundae Dasher is not being recalled because of the peanut butter found in the Reese's Cups, but rather, because of the peanut butter topping applied to the sundae, Carvel spokeswoman Karen Gailey said.

ConsumerAffairs.com has not received any related complaints on the above products.

What To Do

Persons who think they may have become ill from eating peanut butter should consult a physician if they do not get better in a few days. If the illness affects small children, the elderly, pregnant women or those with compromised immune systems, a doctor should be consulted promptly.

The FDA and other agencies have been advising consumers who have Peter Pan peanut butter or Great Value peanut butter with a product code beginning with 2111 to discard the jar and keep the lid.

However, attorneys advise that, if consumers were seriously harmed by their illness, they should seal the jar in a plastic bag and store it out of the reach of children or others in the household, so that it is available as evidence.

Although a few lawsuits seeking class action status have been filed, one experienced consumer attorney who asked not to be identified expressed doubt such actions would be successful.

"The vast majority of suits will be individual actions. A class suit would be difficult to certify," he said.

ConAgra has publicly offered to repay the money consumers spent on the peanut butter and any attempt to recover medical costs and wages lost to illness would require the filing of an individual personal injury suit. Such suits are usually not economically feasible unless consumers have suffered serious injury or death.

Consumers could also file in Small Claims Court if they have well-documented expenses and a firm diagnosis. Consumers should note that they cannot claim punitive damages for pain and suffering in most small claims cases.

Symptoms

Most persons infected with Salmonella develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps 12 to 72 hours after infection. The illness usually lasts 4 to 7 days, and most persons recover without treatment. However, in some persons the diarrhea may be so severe that the patient needs to be hospitalized. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.

Carolina Culinary Foods, a West Columbia, S.C., firm, is voluntarily expanding its February recall of fully cooked Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast cuts and strips that may be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the front of each package subject to this recall bears the establishment number "P-19676" inside the USDA mark of inspection. On the back of each package appears a "Use by" date. Products subject to recall bear a "Use by" date earlier than "28 MAY 2007." The expanded recall totals approximately 2.8 million pounds.

Only the following Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich chicken breast cuts and strips are subject to recall. The list is inclusive of products included in both the original and expanded recall actions.

• 6-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips with Rib Meat, Southwestern Seasoned."
• 6-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips with Rib Meat Grilled."
• 6-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Restaurant Style Breaded Chicken Breast Strips."
• 6-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips with Rib Meat Italian Style."
• 6-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Oven Roasted Chicken Breast Cuts with Rib Meat."
• 6-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken, Honey Roasted Chicken Breast Cuts with Rib Meat."
• 12-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips with Rib Meat Grilled."
• 12-ounce packages of "Oscar Mayer/Louis Rich Chicken Breast Strips with Rib Meat Southwestern Seasoned."

The expanded recall is based on additional sampling initiated by Kraft Foods and conducted at a non-government laboratory. FSIS has received no reports of illnesses associated with consumption of these products. The chicken breast cuts and strips were distributed to retail establishments nationwide.

Consumption of food contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes can cause listeriosis, an uncommon but potentially fatal disease.

Healthy people rarely contract listeriosis. However, listeriosis can cause high fever, severe headache, neck stiffness and nausea. Listeriosis can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal infections in those with weakened immune systems, such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV infection or undergoing chemotherapy.