Product Recalls

Baxter International Inc. said Thursday that it had recalled the remaining lots of its troubled blood-thinning drug heparin as U.S. regulators reported "objectionable conditions" at the Chinese factory that supplied the raw ingredient for the drug. Heparin has been linked to four deaths and hundreds of adverse reactions and is the subject of an investigation by the Food and Drug Administration. It is not known whether the Chinese plant is the cause of the problems, the FDA said.

How do you make 18,000 pounds of beef disappear? Although it may sound like a trick question, it was a very real issue last week for Lynnelle Grumbles as she and other school food service managers throughout California grappled with the aftermath of the largest beef recall in U.S. history.

After a year of toy recalls that shook public confidence in product safety, Senate Democrats and influential industry groups are facing off over how the government regulates everything from baby cribs to all-terrain vehicles. Backed by consumer advocates, lawmakers are pushing to give the public broad access to information about potentially dangerous products and to increase penalties for companies that make or sell harmful products.

Toy distributor Mega Brands Inc. recalled about 2.4 million Chinese-made toys Monday because small magnets could fall out and cause internal injuries. These tiny magnets could be swallowed or inhaled by children. If more than one magnet is swallowed, they can attach to each other and cause intestinal perforation, infection or blockage, which can be fatal. Montreal-based Mega Brands is recalling 1.1 million Magtastik and Magnetix Jr. preschool toys. The recall also includes about 1.

In a shift on federal food safety policy, the Bush administration soon will begin telling consumers during recalls whether their local grocery store has been stocking contaminated meat or poultry. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which announced the change Friday, currently publicizes food recalls and sources but does not tell consumers where the tainted products have gone. Long-standing anger about this policy flared in February during the largest beef recall in U.S.

A California food company is recalling 153,630 pounds of frozen ground beef after an E. coli outbreak shut down a Boy Scout camp in Virginia this week and sickened at least 22 people, health officials said Thursday. The meat from Azusa-based S&S Foods was intended for institutional use and food service companies, which normally supply restaurants, and wasn't sold at the retail level. Before the recall, the beef was shipped to distribution centers in Milwaukee and Allentown, Pa.

McDonald's Corp., the world's largest restaurant company, posted October sales that beat some analysts' estimates after U.S. consumers, pinched by rising food bills and unemployment, bought double cheeseburgers and other $1 items. Global sales at restaurants open at least 13 months climbed 8.2%, paced by Europe's gain of 9.8% compared with a year earlier. U.S. same-store sales increased 5.3%, the Oak Brook, Ill., company said. The Oct.

C.B. Fleet Co., a closely held maker of laxative products, said Thursday that it was voluntarily withdrawing its oral, over-the-counter bowel cleansing solutions after U.S. health regulators warned that such drugs may harm the kidneys. C.B. Fleet said it would recall its Fleet Phospho-soda and Fleet Phospho-soda EZ-Prep Bowel Cleansing System used to clear the bowels before a colonoscopy.

Toyota Motor Corp., which boasted one of the best recall records among major automakers in the U.S. last year after a troubled 2005, is starting the new year with a potential black eye. The company's Torrance-based U.S. sales arm said Thursday that it was launching a safety recall of 553,000 full-size Tundra pickups and Sequoia sport utility vehicles to replace a key part of the front steering system.

Maytag Corp. is recalling 2.3 million Maytag and Jenn-Air brand dishwashers because of faulty wiring, the company and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Thursday. The recalled appliances are blamed for causing 135 fires and four injuries. Affected dishwashers were sold at department and appliance stores from July 1997 to June 2001. Their prices ranged from $370 to $800. The dishwashers were manufactured in the United States.