JULY 30, 2010
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is participating in voluntary standard activities to address injuries to children associated with falls from shopping carts. Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Shopping Carts (ASTM F 2372-04), which was approved in July 2004, covers performance and labeling requirements, requirements for restraint systems, and test methods.
CPSC staff estimates that from 2003 to 2008, an average of 20,332 children under age five were seen in U.S. hospital emergency departments for injuries involving shopping carts every year. Falls from shopping carts were the leading cause of these injuries, and most injuries were to the head and/or face. The majority of the injuries involved one- and two-year-olds.
CPSC staff is currently working with the ASTM F15.56 Shopping Carts Subcommittee to revise the current warning label on shopping carts. The proposed revisions include adding language to warn against the use of personal infant carriers and adding Spanish warning text. The subcommittee also proposed the creation of a separate warning poster and/or a safe-use bulletin to be made available within retail stores warning against the use of personal infant carriers in shopping carts.
Additional Information
Safety Alert:
Incident Data:
Voluntary Standard and Code Activities:
- Correspondence to ASTM F15.56 Subcommittee on Shopping Carts, May 6, 2010. Staff comments on proposed changes to warning label (pdf)
- Correspondence to ASTM F15.56 Subcommittee on Shopping Carts, January 29, 2004. Staff comments on proposed warning label (pdf)
Contact ASTM
- For additional information, contact Len Morrissey at lmorriss@astm.org or ASTM International athttp://www.astm.org
Contact CPSC
- For additional information or to comment, please contact cpsc-os@cpsc.gov
- Join a voluntary standards Email Subscription List