Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

Like your Toll House cookie dough? You'd better toss it out and then clean your hands thoroughly to be safe.

Ga. Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin alerted consumers of the recall of all varieties of prepackaged Nestle Toll House refrigerated cookie dough.

The product may be contaminated with E.coli O157:H7, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"We are warning Georgians not to eat this product," Irvin said. "There is a risk of contamination with E. coli O157:H7, a bacterium that causes food borne illness."

Consumers with any of the prepackaged, refrigerated Nestle Toll House cookie dough should discard the product immediately, Irvin says. Cooking the dough is not recommended due to cross contamination that may occur when the bacterium is transferred to hands or cooking surfaces.

In addition to consumers, retailers, restaurateurs, and personnel at food-service operations should not sell or serve any Nestle Toll House prepackaged, refrigerated cookie dough products subject to the recall.

E. coli O157:H7 causes a diarrheal illness often associated with bloody stools. Young children, the elderly and those with a compromised immune system are most at risk to illness that could lead to serious kidney damage and even death.

Individuals who have recently eaten prepackaged, refrigerated Nestles Toll House cookie dough -- and have experienced any of these symptoms -- should contact a medical professional immediately.

The FDA reminds consumers they should never eat raw food products that are intended for cooking or baking before consumption.

Consumers with questions should contact Nestle consumer services at 1-800-559-5025 and/or visit their website at www.verybestbaking.com .

Labels: cookie dough, nestle toll house, Recalled

The following recalls have been announced:

-- About 18,000 Backyard and Beyond metal water bottles, manufactured in China and distributed by Downeast Concepts Inc., because surface paints contain high levels of lead, which is toxic if ingested by children. No injuries have been reported. The water bottles were sold at gift, convenience, mass merchandise and drug stores around the country, as well as other major retailers, between February 2006 and February 2008. Details: by phone at 800-343-2424; by Web at http://www.backyard-beyond.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

-- About 3,000 toy penguin figures, manufactured in Thailand by Plan Toy Inc., because the figure's head can come off and expose sharp points. The company has received one report of a detached head. No injuries have been reported. The penguins were sold online and at specialty toy stores around the country between May 2007 and February 2008. Details: by phone at 866-517-7526; by Web at http://www.plantoys.com or http://www.cpsc.gov.

Labels: Backyard, Beyond, Metal Water Bottles, Recall, Recalled, Water Bottles

Safety officials announced a recall of 24,000 cribs Thursday and also warned parents against putting their babies to bed with pillows and other soft bedding that could suffocate them.

The 24,000 Indonesian-made cribs were recalled for putting children at risk of falling out. The cribs, imported by Munire Furniture Inc., have improper brackets that don't allow their mattresses to be fully lowered. This could allow children inside the crib to crawl over the railing and fall.

The recall includes the company's Majestic Curved Top, Majestic Flat Top, Essex, Brighton/Sussex and Captiva cribs with various model numbers. The cribs were sold at children's specialty stores between November 2005 and November 2007. No injuries have been reported.

What parents are placing inside their babies' cribs is another concern, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said.

From 2002 to 2004, 241 children under age 5 died in incidents involving nursery products, the CPSC said. About 40 percent of the deaths involved cribs, with soft bedding cited as the leading contributing factor. Many of the children suffocated when lying face down on pillows or other bedding, the agency said.

"Less is more when you're talking about the crib," CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said, adding that cribs should be free of adult pillows and blankets, stuffed animals and baby quilts.

To reduce risk of suffocation and sudden infant death syndrome, parents should place babies on their back in a crib that meets current safety standards, the agency said.

Among other incidents of death in cribs, babies became trapped when the mattress was ill-fitting, CPSC said. Old, broken and modified cribs should not be used, and parents should never allow a gap larger than two fingers at any point between the sides of the crib and mattress, the agency advised.

The agency said there were 36 deaths over the same period relating to baby baths and bath seats. All occurred when caregivers left the baby unattended. In many instances, babies slipped out of bath seats, fell out of baby seats or tipped forward or sideways into the water.

At no time, even for a few seconds, should babies be left unattended in the tub, Vallese said.

Deaths involving playpens also were high, with many resulting from the use of soft bedding.

Although CPSC has in recent years issued many crib product recalls, Vallese said there were no related deaths during 2002 through 2004 that involved a recalled product or a product that eventually was recalled.

In 2006, the most recent year in which injury data was collected, CPSC counted about 66,400 emergency injuries linked with nursery products among children under age 5. Infant carriers and cars seats, excluding motor vehicle accidents, accounted for 14,200 injuries and cribs and mattresses 11,300.

The most common injuries in 2006 resulted from falls, and the head was the most frequently injured body part.

For more details on the crib recall, call 866-586-9639 or visit http://www.munirefurniture.com.

Labels: Child, Children, Crib, Faulty Railing, Furniture, Kids, Recall, Recalled