Coleman, the manufacturer of portable heaters, is being sued over an alleged defective heater.

The family’s lawyers, Bisnar Chase, allegeds The Coleman Company knowingly made and sold a defective propane heater, the ProCat PerfecTemp (Model 5053).

Zero Motorcycles is quite a new company, specializing in high performance electric motorcycles. Just this week though, two rather new models have just been recalled due to a serious potential threat. The off- road 2009 Zero X and the Zero MX are the models that are being recalled. The problem is with a defective throttle that can become disconnected or get stuck in the open position, causing the bike to unexpectedly accelerate immediately after starting it up.

Manufacturers of products are encouraged to provide what is called “product traceability” to their customers, which helps tremendously in organizing recalled products.

The following product safety recall was voluntarily conducted by the firm in cooperation with the CPSC. Consumers should stop using the product immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Rotating Sports Table Lamps

Units: About 145

Importer: Wincraft Inc., of Winona, Minn.

Hazard: An electrical problem with the lamps can pose fire, burn and shock hazards to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: None reported.

California based Plum Organics announced baby food recall of certain products sold at Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us stores. The baby food was recalled for botulism risk in apple and carrot flavored baby food due to an increased risk of botulism poisoning. The baby food comes in 4.22 ounce pouches with a “best by” date of May 21, 2010. The UPC number is 890180001221.

A defective cruise control switch is responsible for a total of 14.3 million vehicles being recalled by Ford Motors. The reason for the recall is the concern that the switch could start a fire. The total recall is the largest in history for addressing a single issue. All of the vehicles involved in the recall fall within the years 1992-2003.

A food recall is a serious issue to the public health. In a statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 76 million cases of food-borne illness occur each year in the U.S. Of all these cases, more than 325,000 individuals are subject to hospitalization and approximately 5,000 deaths occur.

Did you know that improper handling, preparation, and storage of food can be some of the common causes of food recalls?

Name of Product: Durabrand DVD Players. (The August 20 recall of the silver Durabrand DVD player has been expanded to include the pink and purple-colored versions of the same DVD player.)

Units: About 4.2 million (1.5 million were previously announced)

Importer: Wal-Mart Stores Inc., of Bentonville, Ark.

Hazard: The DVD player’s circuit board can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: Wal-Mart has received 14 reports of DVD players overheating, seven of which have resulted in fires that caused property damage. No injuries have been reported.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled Vertical Land window blinds and shades after a 4 year-old girl was strangled to death.

Vertical Land Inc. has participated in recall of approximately 15,400 horizontal blinds, 16,400 vertical blinds, and 800 cellular shades. Vertical Land is a manufacturer based in Panama City Beach, Florida. Specific details regarding the hazard of Vertical Land’s horizontal blinds, vertical blinds, and cellular shades can be found here.

In nursing homes, hospitals, and long-term care facilities, bed rail entrapment has become a serious issue as well as a product liability. Since 1985, the FDA has issued a safety alert on the potential dangers bed rails present. In 1999, the FDA assembled the Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup to monitor how to prevent death and injury from bed rail entrapment.

How can bed rail entrapment happen?