Elizabeth, N.J. – Today, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner David V. Aguilar visited Port Elizabeth, N.J., to announce efforts to keep families safe from dangerous children’s products this holiday season.

	click for hi-res “Together with CPSC, we have intercepted record amounts of unsafe products,” said Deputy Commissioner Aguilar. “We are here to raise consumers’ awareness about the very real danger of unsafe products and urge consumers to be vigilant when buying toys and children’s products this holiday season.” Photo Credit: Josh Denmark

CPSC and CBP are working together at ports across the U.S. to help protect families and keep unsafe products off the shelves this holiday season. So far this year, CBP and CPSC personnel together have seized more than 2 million units of dangerous toys and children’s products.

Chairman Tenenbaum and Deputy Commissioner Aguilar urged parents and other family members to be vigilant when making toy purchases.

“Proactive surveillance at the ports, strong toy standards, and educational efforts create a safer holiday toy shopping experience for consumers by keeping dangerous products off store shelves,” said Chairman Tenenbaum. “Ultimately our goal is to protect our most vulnerable population—kids—and keep them safe this holiday season.”

click for hi-res Chairman Tenenbaum and Deputy Commissioner Aguilar urged parents and other family members to be vigilant when making toy purchases. Photo Credit: Josh Denmark

“Together with CPSC, we have intercepted record amounts of unsafe products,” said Deputy Commissioner Aguilar. “We are here to raise consumers’ awareness about the very real danger of unsafe products and urge consumers to be vigilant when buying toys and children’s products this holiday season.”

Over the past four years, CPSC and CBP have stopped more than 8.5 million units of about 2,400 different toys and children’s products due to safety hazards or the failure to meet federal safety standards. By seizing dangerous toys and children’s products at U.S. ports of entry, CBP and CPSC keep unsafe products off store shelves and out of consumers’ homes.

Since 2008, seizures have nearly doubled both in quantity and value for consumer products imported into the U.S. The coordination between CBP, CPSC and other agencies has resulted in successful targeting, joint operations and coordinated enforcement actions on dangerous products, including harmful children’s toys.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will facilitate about $2 trillion in legitimate trade this year while enforcing U.S. trade laws that protect the economy, the health and the safety of the American people. We accomplish this through close partnerships with the trade community, other government agencies and foreign governments. CBP works closely with CPSC to identify potentially unsafe shipments to check at ports of entry to ensure the safety of imported toys.

	click for hi-res By seizing dangerous toys and children’s products at U.S. ports of entry, CBP and CPSC keep unsafe products off store shelves and out of consumers’ homes. Photo Credit: Josh Denmark

CBP has targeted more than 5,000 high-risk shipments for examination through the Commercial Targeting and Analysis Center (CTAC) in Washington on behalf of CPSC, leading to the seizure of thousands of dangerous imported consumer products. In November, CTAC targeting lead to a large shipment of toys being seized at the area port of Jacksonville, Fla. In total, nearly 24,000 toys, valued at $220,000, were seized by CBP for CPSC lead violations.

In fiscal year 2012, CPSC recalled 38 toys, three of which involved a lead violation. Toy recalls have continued to decline since 2008. There were 172 recalls in fiscal year 2008, 50 recalls in fiscal year 2009, 46 toy recalls in fiscal year 2010, and 34 recalls in 2011. Most toy recalls in 2012 were due to small parts, choking hazards or sharp points.

Toy-related death reports to CPSC involving children younger than 15-years-old decreased to 13 in 2011 from 19 fatalities in 2010 and 17 reported in 2009. The majority of these toy-related fatalities were attributed to asphyxiation, choking or drowning. These included children choking on balloons, drowning after trying to retrieve a toy from a swimming pool, or being found with tricycles in swimming pools.