I am sure that many of you saw the over hyped reporting of the  Maclaren “product recall” in the USA. Maclaren Europe has released a statement which can be read below.We would like to reassure any of our customers that Maclaren are dealing appropriately and professionally with this matter and that whilst you may have been alarmed by some of the terminology used by the British media last week, the definition of a “product recall” in the USA is very different to a British or European product recall.

MACLAREN STATEMENT

This week, Maclaren USA announced that it is voluntarily employing corrective measures by providing consumers and retailers with a kit to cover the elbow joint on Maclaren umbrella buggy’s side hinge mechanism which should be kept out of the reach of children when the operator is opening or closing the umbrella buggy.  This programme is aimed at Maclaren Customers and Retailers in the USA only and does not apply to the UK or any other country outside of the USA.

A company spokesperson for Maclaren Europe Limited said:  “Our products are fully compliant with European safety legislation.  Our products were assessed and found to be fully compliant and safe.

“We wish to reassure our customers that they should continue to use their existing Maclaren buggies since they are safe when open and closed correctly.  As further reassurance we have updated our operating instructions and placed a warning label on the buggy to ensure that customers take care and keep children away from the buggy when it is being folded or unfolded.  Our advice is that consumers should take the same level of caution and care as when opening or closing a car door or any other moving part that can be found in many other baby and toddler products.

“We will be updating our UK website to give consumers clear advice and operating instructions.

“We would like to make clear this is not a European wide product recall.  In the US the term product recall has an entirely different meaning.  It means corrective action or the modification of products which can be carried out in the home.  In response to  accidents which occurred when buggies where not operated in line with instructions and safety guidelines our US Company decided to voluntarily supply kits to cover the elbow joint as a safety measure.  There are a lower number of similar reported incidents amongst the considerably higher number of Maclaren buggies sold in Europe.  If a buggy is folded or unfolded in line with our operating instructions the risk of injury is non existent.”

Editor notes:

Since 1967, Maclaren has engineered its strollers to specifically exceed global standards for safety, reliability and durability. Nothing carries the Maclaren name until it is researched, tried and tested and we continually monitor the quality and safety of our products. We encourage customers to contact us with feedback on the quality and safety of our products and we are regularly top-ranked amongst our competitors.’