ATLANTA — A prominent consumer group is calling for action on popular laundry pods in order to keep your kids safe.
Four months ago, federal safety regulators expected pod makers to make changes so the pods would be less attractive to kids.
Consumer agencies said the brightly colored appearance posed a danger to families and young children. They warned that some children mistake the bite-sized pods for candy and accidentally eat them or inhale the contents.
“When children ingest these pods (they get) an upset stomach, (have) breathing problems, (and) two children have even died," said ABC Medical correspondent Dr. Richard Besser.
Channel 2 Action News has reported extensively about calls into poison control centers across the country and in Georgia dealing with more calls about kids eating the pods.
In just the first half of this year, these centers received more than 6,000 reports of kids under the age of 5 eating laundry pods.
Thursday Consumer Reports announced it is no longer endorsing the use of laundry pods citing dangers of ingestion and the lack of safety measures in place to reduce risk of injury.
The agency urges congress to pass tough safety standards for the pods.
Until that happens, there are steps parents can take to keep kids safe. Be sure to store all detergents in a locked place out of the reach of children and be sure to get immediate medical treatment if your child accidentally eats a pod.
Despite consistent reporting here and elsewhere, the poisoning reports this year are running at a pace that will eclipse the cases from last year.
WSBTV
