On April 7, 2011, the Center for Environmental Health testified before a subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee that the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 is working, particularly its limits on lead in children's products. CEH pointed to a study it conducted on more than 1200 toys and other children’s products which it chose based on their tendency to have lead. CEH found that 96% of these riskier products were compliant with federal lead limits. It believes that the greater marketplace has even higher lead compliance rates. CEH says that since the CPSIA was enacted, lead hazards in children's products have been reduced by a factor of approximately three.

The Food and Drug Administration has submitted its first Annual Report on Food Facilities, Food Imports, and FDA Foreign Offices to Congress pursuant to the Food Safety Modernization Act.

On April 8, 2011, the Food and Drug Administration posted revised versions of the following Import Alerts on the detention without physical examination of:

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a proposed rule to establish a mandatory consumer product safety standard for children’s portable bed rails. The proposed standard is substantially the same as the voluntary standard ASTM F 2085-10a, “Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Portable Bed Rails,” with certain modifications to strengthen the standard.

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a question and answer document regarding reports of a rare, but serious and potentially fatal adverse effect with the use of over-the-counter (OTC) benzocaine gels and liquids applied to the gums or mouth.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade held a hearing on April 7, 2011 on a draft bill that would revise the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA) to make it less stringent. While the draft received strong support from the trade and many Representatives, some Congressional members likened the bill to a CPSIA wrecking ball, and the CPSC official who testified indicated it went farther than necessary.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has updated its list of meetings between CPSC and its stakeholders that are open to the public, unless otherwise stated:

The Food and Drug Administration has made available its Enforcement Report for April 6, 2011.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote by April 12, 2011 on a staff recommendation on a petition it received to revise the Bunk Bed Standard to incorporate requirements for head and neck entrapment testing in spaces created by side structures that are provided with a bunk bed, including ladders. Staff recommends that the Commission defer its decision on the petition for six months and direct staff to work with the ASTM F15.30 Bunk Bed Subcommittee on the ASTM F 1427 voluntary standard, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Bunk Beds, to develop requirements to address head and neck entrapment in spaces created by side structures.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recalls on April 7, 2011: