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The recall of Simplicity Inc cots was the latest to hit Chinese-made consumer products, after the large-scale recalls of millions of Mattel toys found to contain lead paint or dangerous parts.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Friday it was recalling older-style Simplicity cots because the drop-side could became detached, creating a gap which could either trap or suffocate a child.

A nine-month-old baby and a six-month-old were known to have died when the drop-side of their cots was installed upside down and collapsed, the commission said in a statement.

The commission was also investigating the death of a one-year-old in a newer Simplicity crib in which the drop-side was installed upside down.

"The CPSC is warning parents and care-givers to check all Simplicity cribs to make sure the drop-side is installed right side up," the commission said in a statement.

"The drop-side failures result from both the hardware and crib design, which allow consumers to unintentionally install the drop-side upside down.

"This, in turn, can weaken the hardware and cause the drop-side to detach from the crib. When the drop-side detaches, it creates a gap in which infants can become entrapped."

The commission added it was aware of seven cases where babies had become trapped in their cribs and 55 other incidents. It was also investigating two cases which occurred even though the cot had been correctly put together.

The cribs "were sold nationwide from January 1998 through May 2007 for between 100 and 300 dollars", the commission said.

It also urged consumers to "check to see if their crib contains the recalled hardware. Recalled hardware has a flexible tab at the bottom of the lower tracks and the top of the lower tracks are open.

"Newer hardware, which is not subject to the recall, has the flexible tab located at the top of the lower track, and a permanent stop at the bottom."

"Simplicity strives to make safe products; that is our number-one priority. That's why we worked with the CPSC to take this action," Ken Waldman, the president of Pennsylvania-based Simplicity, said in a statement.

The recall will again rattle US consumers about the safety of Chinese products after a series of scares involving popular toys such as Thomas the Tank Engine, Barbies and Polly Pockets in recent months.

But earlier on Friday US toy giant Mattel issued a startling apology to China, saying the vast majority of the recent recalls of Chinese-made products were due to design flaws it had committed itself.

Vocabulary

cot, n: special bed for babies; a crib

consumer, n: person who uses something that has been made

large-scale, adj: of a very big number, or large quantity or size

to drop, v: go down; fall

to suffocate, v: make unable to breathe; smother; choke

to collapse, v: to fall to pieces; to come apart

upside down, preposition: where the upper part is where the lower part should be; an inverted position

care-giver, n: person who takes regular care of another

unintentionally, adv: by mistake; not wanting to do

tab, n: something that is designed to make something else stop at a certain place

track, n: a path or a rail along which something runs or follows

Questions

1. What were the items recalled this time?

a. cribs

b. cutlery

c. clothes

d. crockery

2. Why were these items recalled?

a. Babies died.

b. Nobody bought them.

c. They kept breaking down.

d. Nobody could assemble them.

3. In what country were these items made?

a. Laos

b. China

c. Thailand

d. Cambodia

4. What products from this country were recalled previously?

a. toys

b. tyres

c. furniture

d. bicycles

5. What were these recalls eventually blamed on?

a. design flaws

b. wrong colours

c. faulty labelling

d. missing manuals

Synonyms

Which of the following words or phrases replace the ones from the passage best?

1. trap

a. cut

b. catch

c. injure

d. murder

2. detach

a. join

b. jam

c. mount

d. separate

3. gap

a. pike

b. edge

c. barrier

d. opening

4. crib

a. cot

b. suit

c. bedding

d. playthings

5. flexible

a. sharp

b. serrated

c. bendable

d. unreliable

Answers

Questions    1. a,  2. a, 3. b, 4. a, 5. a

Synonyms    1. b, 2. d, 3. d, 4. a, 5. c

By Ajarn Horst Baelz