Stork Craft Crib Recall: Drop-Side Cribs

Federal regulators and a Canadian company have announced a massive crib recall in the United States and Canada because of the risk of suffocation and fall.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. of British Columbia have recalled more than 2.1 million Stork Craft drop-side cribs made in Canada, China and Indonesia, including about 147,000 Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo. The recall involves approximately 1.2 million units distributed in the United States and 968,000 units distributed in Canada.

The CPSC urges parents and caregivers to immediately stop using the recalled cribs, wait for the free repair kit, and do not attempt to fix the cribs without the kit. They should find an alternative, safe sleeping environment for their baby, officials said. Consumers should contact Stork Craft to receive a free repair kit that converts the drop-side on these cribs to a fixed side.

The drop-side plastic hardware can break, deform, or parts can become missing, the CPSC said. Also, the drop-side can be mistakenly installed upside-down, which can result in broken or disengaged plastic parts. Safety officials said that all of these problems can cause the drop-side to detach in one or more corners. When the drop-side detaches, creating a space between the drop-side and the crib mattress. Infants and toddlers can become trapped in that space, possibly leading to suffocation. If the drop sides complete detach, babies can fall out of the crib.

The recall affects Stork Craft drop-side cribs and Stork Craft drop-side cribs with the Fisher-Price logo and that have plastic trigger and one-hand-system drop-side hardware.

• Stork Craft drop-side cribs manufacturing and distribution dates: Between January 1993 and October 2009.
• Stork Craft cribs with the Fisher-Price logo manufacturing dates: Between October 1997 and December 2004.

Major retailers in the United States and Canada sold the recalled cribs from January 1993 through October 2009 for between $100 and $400:

• BJ's Wholesale Club
• J.C. Penney
• Kmart
• Meijer
• Sears
• USA Baby
• Wal-Mart
• Amazon.com
• Babiesrus.com
• Costco.com
• Target.com
• Walmart.com

For additional information and to order a free repair toolkit, contact Stork Craft at:

• (877) 274-0277
• www.storkcraft.com

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Prior to this latest recall, more than 4.6 million cribs have been recalled by the CPSC since 2007.

There has been a move to ban cribs with dropdown sides, which may be unsafe or even deadly for children. The Suffolk County legislature on Long Island has already passed a ban. Under the law, any infant crib that has three immovable sides with a fourth side that moves up and down shall be prohibited for retail sale in Suffolk County. The law will take effect in February of 2010.

There have been an estimated 90 deaths and 11,000 injuries associated with drop-side cribs between 2005 and 2008.