Ellen PhillipsAnd finally to conclude this Hall of Shame recall and bad boys list, I can’t end without listing these “boys” who dropped the ball about their defective products.
Even with settlements, the companies denied any intentional wrongdoing, and I list them in the order of the amount of the fines paid. Obviously, if you have any of these products, return them immediately to the manufacturer for exchange or refund.
• Aqua Dots craft kits, sold from April to November 2009, are a major culprit, as the manufacturer continued to sell the kits even after it knew kids had swallowed the candylike beads with a toxic coating.
• The 1.8 million Auto Fire target sets, sold at Family Dollar stores from September 2005 to January 2009, had darts that could lodge in a kid’s throat. It took four years and three deaths before the manufacturer finally took the product off the market.
• Black and Decker’s Grasshog XP model GH1000 trimmer/edgers sold from November 2005 to spring 2007. Problems occurred when the high-powered weed wacker overheated or its parts went flying.