Customs Seizes Children’s Bags at Houston Seaport
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced yesterday its officers had confiscated more than 6,000 children’s backpacks and lunch bags on two different occasions. Both times authorities determined the China exports had extremely high levels of lead.
The first instance involved a Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) compliance investigator examining 1,500 children’s backpacks and more than 4,000 lunch bags, and determining more testing was needed. A test of a sample at the CPSC laboratory concluded the products’ metal zippers had lead levels ranging from 900 to 15,000 parts per million—more than the legal limit of 100 parts per million.
CBP officers and a CPSC compliance investigator examined a single carton of backpacks in another incident and submitted a sample for more testing. Each backpack contained lead levels of 200 to 3,000 parts per million. CBP confiscated all of the noncompliant items for destruction.
“These seizures reflect our commitment to protecting American consumers from hazardous, harmful products,” Dave Fluty, CBP port director, said. “Together with CPSC, we tirelessly search for imported products that may pose a hazard or safety concern for American consumers and we take the appropriate steps to ensure those items do not reach store shelves.”