TEETHER is an item that sooths baby's gums during the teething period. The item is usually some kind of polymer made ring or other shaped object filled with liquid or gel. The liquid inside must be pure and free of any type of bacteria or contamination. This is just in case the teether gets punctured. Health Canada requires that baby teether is free of any living micro-organisms. However, looks like approximately 11 brands that arrived Canada did not pass this test. The question is how is that we decided to test the product when already in the consumer hands, or more so in baby's hands.
How is this possible? Everything is possible if you do not perform right tests or skip process steps, and most of all looks like importers or distributer do not think about the safety, rather think about how fast they can sell it to the stores. So this is one loose end. Another might be is that the design of each teether passed the failure test, so the manufacturing decided to be easy on the filling material of the teether. I wonder what kind of failure tests they performed that made them think to be ignorant of that step in the process. Looks like someone is paying for the screw up, and good thing there were no illness incidences in this matter. Another loose end is that they Health Canada tested first one in 2006, and no body got the idea.
The following stats were compiled based on the 2009 recalled list from Government of Canada - Healthy Canadians. The numbers are kind of scary how many different brands were recalled. We were fortunate that there were no incidences posing health issues on the baby. My suggestion, find other way, I am sure that the polymer the teether is made of may be not be good for baby to chew on either.
Interesting Number Facts About Recalled Bacteria Contaminated Teether in 2009
Total Brands Recalled: 11
Total Incidences Reported: 0
Total Health Issues Caused: 0
Total Sold In Canada: 252,963
Total Different Types of Bacteria Found: 11
Total Filled w/ Water: 10
Total Filled w/ Gel: 1
About Bacteria Types
Bacillus sphaericus - generally is not harmful; however, may cause infection in children with weakened immune systems if the teether is punctured and the liquid filling from the teether is ingested or enters open wounds.
Bacillus fusiformis - generally is not harmful; however, may cause infection in children with weakened immune systems if the teether is punctured and the liquid filling from the teether is ingested or enters open wounds.
Bacillus thuringiensis - generally is not harmful in healthy individuals; however, the bacteria can affect children with weakened immune systems, causing stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Bacillus mycoides - generally is not harmful in healthy individuals; however, the bacteria can affect children with weakened immune systems, causing stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhea, if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Bacillus cereus - can cause severe nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured; however, some strains generally are not harmful. Individuals suffering from compromised immune systems are more vulnerable to infection by this bacteria.
Burkholderia tropica - generally is not harmful; however, the bacteria may cause infection in children with weakened immune systems, if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Bacillus circulans - generally is not harmful; however, may be harmful to children with weakened immune systems, if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa - can affect children with weakened immune systems, causing various infections, if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Staphylococcus warneri - generally is not harmful; however, it may cause infection in individuals with weakened immune systems, if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Bacillus coagulans - exposure to various moulds may cause allergic reactions in some individuals; however, exposure to Bacillus coagulans generally does not cause illness.
Bacillus licheniformis - generally is not harmful; however, can affect children with weakened immune systems, causing stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea if the liquid from the teether is injected in case of being punctured.
Source: Healthy Canadians
