There's nothing like finding something new to worry about. This week, it's bisphenol A.

If you haven't heard, it's a chemical used in plastics, and as the Washington Post recently reported, the U.S. National Toxicology Program recently wondered in a draft report if baby bottles made with bisphenol A might cause behaviorial changes in infants and children and trigger the early onset of puberty in females. The report also said that more studies should be done, but no matter: Wal-Mart's halting the sales of baby bottles, sippy cups, pacifiers, food containers and water bottles made with bisphenol A in its Canadian stores -- and will stop selling baby bottles with BPA in American stores early next year. Meanwhile, stores like Target and Babies R Us are offering alternative products not made with BPA.

Phew, sounds like we're all going to be okay. Why am I worried? Besides, my kids are past the age of baby bottles and pacfiiers, and they seem no worse for the wear.

But then I read that BPA is also used as a protective spray on metal -- to keep foods in cans from tasting metallic, for instance. It also is used on the inside of soda cans.

Just in case you were thinking about stuffing your mouth with anything Chinese that isn't General Tso's chicken -- Don't! Funtastic, a Texas-based novelty company, might have to re-brand itself under the name "Leadtastic," after it began to recall 26,000 fake hillbilly teeth that were manufactured in China.

I love how the packaging to the right works as both a sales pitch and a warning. Luckily these teeth are easily identifiable, just look for brown gums, yellow-colored teeth and a packaging number of 2657. Sorry, I don't think you can turn in Uncle Bubba's teeth as part of the recall effort.

I'm sure you have seen loads of darling children running around with a gob of misshapen plastic teeth in their mouths acting out scenes from Deliverance, but the fun has to end now. It seems lead in toys is an issue mainly because children might put them in their mouths and suffer from lead poisoning. You could argue that some items such as board games and piggy banks can contain as much lead as low-cost producers see fit since kids aren't likely to shove those items into their mouths. (Not that they won't try anyway). Somehow Funtastic missed this memo and for the last three years has been shipping lead-filled toys which are meant to be jammed into your kid's mouth.

You can get a refund on your lead dentures by contacting Leadtastic Funtastic.

Just in time for Easter, new toy recalls have popped up, sufficiently scaring both parents and the Easter Bunny. I spoke with the Easter Bunny earlier today and he said he's really exasperated with the situation. After all the publicity about unsafe toys containing lead and detachable parts, he's confused about why toy companies aren't being more careful.

A group of college chemistry students in Ohio examined 45 toys, and found that lead paint was present on 13 of those toys. (That's almost one-third of them!) Obviously, the risk with these toys is that the lead paint could chip off and be ingested by kids.

The Toy Industry Association's board of directors is beginning to take steps to aggressively address toy safety issues, which were all too common in 2007. According to press accounts, there were 61 toy related product recalls last year, representing an increase of approximately 50% above the total toy safety issues reported for 2006.
With leadership assistance solicited from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a proposed plan of action has been drafted for the Toy Industry Association in an effort to more clearly define the product safety responsibilities of toy manufacturers and to more closely monitor toy manufacturing operations. The full program description will be published by ANSI for public review and comment on Feb. 22.

Daniel Grossman, Chairman of the Board of the Toy Industry Association is quoted on the TIA website as stating: "Once again, our industry has responded quickly and effectively when toy safety issues have been identified." The Toy Industry Association represents more than 500 manufacturers, and its members import or produce some 85% of toys distributed in North America, according to the website. Naturally this group has a strong interest in at least trying to keep on top of safety issues.

Nancy Nord, acting chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, has taken a justifiably hard line when it comes to toy industry foibles. Associated Press quoted her as stating: "I will not tolerate this industry ... not complying with our regulations." The CPSC is helping by providing additional guidance in the efforts to develop a toy manufacturer standards program and the agency is making it clear that they're not playing around.

The largest beef recall in United States history happened over the weekend, so consumers better put their steaks on hold until they check the packaging. Some 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse have been recalled. The questionable meat dates back to February 1, 2006 (who keeps their meat in the freezer that long?). Much of the beef supplied by Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. goes to federal programs, including school lunches.

The recall is based upon the fact that the plant violated health regulations and cattle didn't receive proper inspections. So far no illnesses have been reported, but employees have been charged with animal cruelty and illegal movement of animals. Reports say that some of the cows were too sick to even walk to the slaughterhouse.

The beef from Westland/Hallmark is sold in bulk packaging from distribution centers. It's unclear how much of the beef hasn't been consumed. Double check your packaging, and if you have any meat from that company, please throw it out immediately.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Toys "R" Us has just announced new safety standards that will be implemented in its 1,500 stores. Beginning March 1st, there will be tighter standards related to the amount of lead allowed in the toys branded with the chain's name. The company is also removing nickel-cadmium batteries from the branded products and restricting the use of two other chemicals in toys.

These new self-imposed standards are expected to exceed the federal standards that should be coming out soon, and are being done in the light of the number of toys recalled across several brands. Consumers are rightly concerned about the levels of lead in toys, particularly when young children are notorious for putting many of their toys in their mouths.

Toy companies would be wise to implement stringent standards of their own and widely publicize their efforts. Safety, especially when it comes to small children, can be an issue that makes or breaks a company. It's good business to make sure that our country's children are protected from harmful chemicals.

Tracy L. Coenen, CPA, MBA, CFE performs fraud examinations and financial investigations for her company Sequence Inc. Forensic Accounting, and is the author of Essentials of Corporate Fraud.

Trader Joe's, purveyors of international foods and inexpensive wines (yeah, Two Buck Chuck!) is dropping import of single-item Chinese foods in reaction to growing customer concern about pesticides, antibiotics, and pollutive growing practices. These foods include garlic, frozen spinach and other unspecified products. The company plans to complete the purge by April 1st. Trader Joe's is privately owned, by the same people that own and operate Aldi's.

The first question that comes to my mind is, who in their right mind would buy any single-food item at TJ's between now and April 1st? If the goods are hazardous enough to warrant removal, why keep them on the shelves for the next two months? Until April Fool's Day, I think I'll do my shopping elsewhere, thank you.

The National Association of State Fire Marshals is lobbying government officials to ban novelty-lighters that resemble toys, and a few states are giving the idea consideration. In California, Washington, and Arkansas, local ordinances have been passed banning the sale of these lighters have been passed.

According to the Associated Press, "Novelty lighters can look like anything from tiny skateboards and cell phones to farm animals and butterflies. Some light up or make noises, including the tiny green frog that elicits a "ribbit" when its flame is ignited."

The fire marshals are concerned that children, and even adults, can be burned by the lighters because it's hard to figure out how they work and they resemble toys.

Another concern I have is that associating cute animals and skateboards with smoking may send the wrong message to kids. In 1997, RJ Reynolds stopped using Joe Camel as a mascot for its products after Congress put pressure on the company due to similar concerns. I know: lighters aren't cigarettes, but that's their primary use.

As the proud owner of a 1999 Ford Taurus, which has served me and my family well all these years (I made my husband promise we would trade it in the first time it breaks down, but it never has), I always check the Ford recall news items. It seems like there is one every other month.

Today brings news of 225,000 cars recalled -- for the second time -- all because of a faulty cruise control mechanism. My car isn't on the list. In fact, all the recallees are from years 1992 to 1995. Models include the Bronco, F-Series, and Taurus SHO among others.

In my one experience with a recall, we brought the car back to have some kind of new part put in the wheel and when we drove off, it turned out the mechanic broke the stabilizer bar fixing the defective part. We were about to start on a family vacation and our car sounded like a brick in a clothes dryer.

Actually, that was the closest our car came to breaking down. We had to return to the dealer and leave on our vacation a day later. My husband was able to convince me that didn't count as a break down since the car actually could have run for miles with the broken part. That was about three years ago now.

In two separate product lines by two different manufacturers, Pottery Barn and Wicks & Petals have issued recalls of decorative candle products.

In the first recall issued Friday, January 17, 2008, The Pottery Barn has recalled approximately 185,000 round and egg shaped decorative candles. The products are described as egg shaped as well as multiple round sizes. The candles can be found in green, gold, and white. They also sport adornments in gold and glitter.

It didn't rank up there with my wedding day or the birth of my first born, but I can honestly say that I remember the first time I saw Topps Meat on my grocery store shelves.

"How convenient," I thought as I grabbed the red rectangular box full of frozen hamburger patties. I'd gotten used to keeping frozen hamburger in the freezer for all those quick fix family suppers that call for ground meat (and I won't embarrass myself further by mentioning exactly what delightful concoctions I might make). But for at least a few months, I regularly bought Topps Meat -- and served it to my children.

I actually hadn't bought the stuff for a while when I saw headlines last Fall proclaiming that 22 million pounds of the meat was being recalled for E. coli contamination. The company went bankrupt in November and its remaining assets may soon be sold.

I can't say I'm sorry to see Topps go -- only sorry that I ever thought buying boxed frozen hamburger was a good idea. Now it seems that taking more care with my ground beef purchases -- actually all my food purchases -- is in order. Given all the food recalls this year, the notion of using convenience as a criteria for buying food seems, oh, so 2007.

This post was written as part of a series on on 2007 departures. Read about more products, companies and people you won't see in 2008.

If you're like me, you often find yourself tempted to spend more money on holiday gifts for your four-legged furry friends than your relatives. I know I have a lot more fun watching Maggie and Ramsey playing with their rubber balls with biscuits in the middle (called Kongs -- a great but expensive gift for the dog in your life) than I would watching my dad put together a new grill or inflatable New England Patriots chair.

But there could be trouble on the horizon: With all the talk about recalls of imported children's toys with high lead-levels, almost nothing has been said about dog toys!

And it turns out that there are no legal standards for lead levels or anything else in in pet toys -- and the Consumer Products Safety Commission says it lacks jurisdiction over pet issues, and can only intervene if the health of the owner if being effected. However a lot of pet stores test their products anyway.

General Electric has issued a widespread recall for a number of models of microwave/oven combo units sold between January of 2000 and December of 2003. Apparently, the door switch of the microwave can overheat enough to set the plastic on fire. Microwaves, as you know, aren't intended for cooking over an open flame.

The company reports 35 'incidents', although only one resulted in a fire that spread beyond the unit. The units sold under the brand names GE, GE Profile and Kenmore. A full list of the affected models can be found here. The serial numbers can be found in the microwave cooking chamber's left wall.

The company warns owners to stop using the microwave immediately, although they can continue to use the oven section. GE is offering to repair their shoddy equipment for free, or give owners a rebate on a new GE model.

This strikes a sour note with me. When I receive a crappy meal at a restaurant, the last thing I want as redress is a second free meal at the same restaurant. But maybe that's just me.