Stork Issues Largest Crib Recall Ever

November 2009

Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. has recalled over 2.1 million drop-side cribs because they pose a suffocation hazard to babies and toddlers. In the wake of the recall, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) admitted that it hasn't acted as quickly as it should on crib safety.

The affected Stork cribs contain defective hardware that can cause young children to become trapped between the crib wall and the mattress. About 1.2 million of the cribs were distributed in the United States and approximately 968,000 were distributed in Canada. They were sold at major retailers like Sears and Wal-Mart and online at Amazon.com and Target.com from January 1993 through October 2009. This is Stork's second largest recall of the year – the company recalled over 1 million cribs in January.

Consumer advocates have lobbied against drop-side cribs for years. More than 5 million of them were recalled in the past two years after being linked to the deaths of a dozen children. The CPSC is considering new rules for making cribs safer and may ban the drop-side style.