Super Eco

Photo credit: fishmonk, stock.xchng

You can check to see if your peanut butter is tainted by salmonella. You can look forward to the day when we have more research available on endocrine disruptors in pesticides. But if you're trying desperately to find out if that beeYOOteeful Hello Kitty necklace is contaminated by lead ... Well, you'll have to keep distracting your young jewel-a-holic, for the time being.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is more than two months late reporting in to Congress on progress to create a searchable website database that includes consumer reports of hazardous toys and products. The new database will let parents view hazard reports from other parents, healthcare professionals and child care professionals, even before official recalls have been issued for a particular product. The database is also planned to include the types of injuries that have occurred, where they occurred, and other details currently available only via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

So what's the holdup? It looks like budget was the sticking point. The CPSC said it received no funding for the project until the passage of the 2009 appropriations bill but adds that funds are now in and the development process has begun.

Until the new database is ready, you're not entirely left adrift. Check HealthyToys.org for basic toy safety information.