Any time there is a safety recall, particularly for an item involving children, it tends to create distress. Even if no one has been injured or harmed in any way, people naturally worry. In the case of Osprey's Poco child carriers being recalled, it turns out there was a reason to worry.
According to a press release, Osprey has recalled its Poco child carriers due to a possible fall hazard. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said in a statement:
Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled carriers and contact Osprey for a free Seat Pad Insert for use along with the existing safety straps to secure the child in the carrier. Consumers who previously received and installed the free Seat Pad Insert in their carriers are not required to take further action.
The issue at hand is reportedly large leg openings, so far, there have been four reports of children falling through the leg openings in the U.S. One of those incidents resulted in a fractured skull, while another resulted in a badly scratched head. These Osprey Poco child carriers were manufactured between January 2012 and December 2014. These items were sold in specialty outdoor stores across the country, as well as on Amazon.com and REI.
A representative for Osprey told Romper:
At Osprey, safety is our number one priority. As soon as we learned about the issues with the product, we immediately worked in full cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission to address the problem. Per the recommendation of the CPSC, we are offering owners a free Seat Pad Insert for all recalled Poco Child Carriers manufactured for sale from January 2012 through December 2014. For additional details, we encourage customers to visit https://www.cpsc.gov/ or contact our support team at 866-951-5197 or pocoseatpad@ospreypacks.com."
Osprey has been a well-respected name in high quality backpacks for outdoor adventures since 1974, when husband and wife team Mike Pfotenhauer and Laurie White first sold Osprey packs in Santa Cruz, California. The packs are manufactured in Vietnam and imported through Osprey Child Safety Products LLC and Osprey Packs Inc., of Cortez, Colorado.
The Osprey products which have been included in the recall are the Osprey Poco, Poco Plus, and Poco Premium. The carriers are sold in three colors; "Romper Red," "Koala Grey," and "Bouncing Blue." Recalled carriers have a production date code of:
S12SBPR1, S12SBPR1B, S12SBPR2, S12SBPR3, S12SBPR4, F12SBPR1, F12SBPR2, S13SB IPO, S13SBPR1, S13SBPR2, S13SBPR3, S13SBPR4, F13SBPR1, F13SBPR2, F13SBPR3, S14SBPR1, S14SBPR2, S14SBPR3, S14SBPR4, S14SBPR5.
"Osprey" is printed on the fabric above the kick stand. The model name is printed on the back at the bottom.
The company has chosen to remedy the safety hazard by offering customers a free Poco seat pad and installation kit which will ostensibly solve the issue of children slipping through the leg openings. If you own an Osprey child carrier and would like a free Poco seat pad, just fill out the website registration form here.
You can also call (866) 951-5197, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. MST for more information.
This recall may be a scary one, but, it seems, the process of resolving it is relatively simple.
