At least one child has been injured by a stray piece of glass that was allegedly found in a jar of baby food. Beech-Nut Nutrition — the manufacturer of the baby food in question — issued a voluntary recall following the injury claim. However, that may be of little peace of mind to Ohio parents who might now be worried about hazardous materials in their children’s baby food.
The child that prompted the recall suffered a mouth injury. Although this is the only reported case of injury, it is possible that others have been hurt by the foreign material but were not able to peg down the exact source of the injury. Furthermore, although the recall includes pulling the affected lot off of store shelves, there may be some families who still have some of the tainted baby food on their own shelves. It is not uncommon for consumers to continue to use a product, completely unaware that it has been recalled.
The size of Beech-Nut’s recall could be another stumbling block to removing all of the affected batch. In total, over 1,900 pounds have been recalled. The batch was manufactured back in Dec. 2014, and with such a long shelf life, it is unlikely that every last jar that was sold but remains unopened can be retrieved.
Discovering that a child was injured by a product that was manufactured especially for children can leave parents feeling defeated and unsure of what step to take. Although many Ohio parents might be prone to blaming themselves for injuries that happen to their children, hazardous materials simply should not be in products intended for children. Instead of blaming themselves, parents of children who have been injured because of negligence in the design or manufacturing of a product can file a products liability suit against the manufacturer. If successfully navigated to completion, this type of claim can result in the award of just compensation that addresses the damages related to their child’s injury.
Source: ABC News, “Beech-Nut Nutrition Recalls Baby Food After Glass Found in Jar“, April 15, 2015
