Serious advice please. Found shrapnel in our baby's nappies.

[M6L11]

To say we are shocked is the understatement of the century. It was a bumper bag of 78 nappies, which we bought from a huge chain store as a buy one get one free (156 nappies total). Having gone through about twenty of them we've found shrapnel in several, buried under the secondary layer of the inner nappy, out of sight.

To think our baby has been wriggling around in these nappies screaming in pain all week, which we were told was likely constipation, is absolutely sickening. Any ideas on first steps? Obviously contact the manufacturer but who/what else? I'm not happy to hand them over to the retailer/OEM for them to 'investigate' then 'lose' the nappies.

I know this has happened once or twice over the years but it's always been a case of a perfectly normal nappy with a rip made in it, with a whole razor laid neatly on top and 'it came with the nappy honest guv'. We have a whole bag of nappies peppered full of shrapnel buried in the material in such a way it can't possibly be tampering.

WTH is the sane next step? I'm raging atm. Trading Standards? Do they even deal with the public any more? Any help and advice appreciated. BTW yes she's been checked at A&E for metal fragments etc before finally posting here; we're not mentally deficient. It doesn't help I had my second kidney surgery today. I'm supposed to be on bed rest and instead I'm rushing round like a lunatic with my baby, bleeding in places you really shouldn't. D'oh.

One of the offending nappies.

Edited by M6L11 on Tuesday 18th August 13:37

[Mk3Spitfire]

What do you mean by "shrapnel"? What exactly is it? It's hard to see from the pics. I think the most important thing is to contact the store you purchased them from, and perhaps the actual manufactures. Chances are there are other boxes out there with the same problem. They need to know ASAP so they can remove the boxes that are left and try and recall the ones already sold.

[elanfan]

Trading Standards as a matter of urgency, but if you want this publicised quickly I'd go to the Press. They'd be rightly horrified I'd hope and make it a National story. Contact the store first thing at Head Office level they need to be looking at an urgent recall notice.

Could easily see this story on The news

[AWRacing]

I know there is the whole naming and shaming rule but is this one of the leading brands (does it start with a P or an H) or supermarket own?

We've always used P's and i've never found anything in them (to date).

I'd be inclined to contact the manufacturer and explain to them.

[Petrus1983]

Wow! I'd be on the phone to the HQ of the brand involved first thing - they'll want this issue dealt with as quickly as possible as much as you. Although it probably won't be easy try and stay calm when talking with them so they can have as much information as possible which will allow them to a) track where abouts this could have occurred in the manufacturing process and b) work out which stores maybe affected. Let us know how it goes.

[Wilmslowboy]

Go to the retailer, they will have teams set up to deal with this sort of thing.

They will/should remove the product from their shelves (ASAP) and be able to have the most senior contacts within the manufacturer working on it.

The retailer is not the bad guy here, but they do have the firepower and influence to get it sorted.

Unfortunately manufacturers get many hoax incidents like this - the backing of the retailer will ensure you are taken seriously from the start. (Hopefully)

If you are not dealt with seriously by the retailer (which I hope you are) then suggest you will tweet the matter to their CEO ect.

Hope the little one is OK

Edited by Wilmslowboy on Tuesday 18th August 07:03

[Baryonyx]

Shrapnel? What do you mean by shrapnel?

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

The most important thing is to contact the manufacturer, and give them as much information as possible so that they can trace the problem as quickly as possible. When and where you bought them, and if there's a batch number on the packaging that will be invaluable.

Most likely this is a failed bearing or something similar in a machine, which is spitting out pieces of metal. There's no point getting angry about it, and going to the press isn't going to get the problem solved. Mechanical failures do happen; what matters is how quickly it can be put right, and I'm sure the manufacturer will want to do that as swiftly as possible.

There will probably be a customer service number on the packaging, and any batch number will be vital. Call them immediately.

Edited to add: I really don't understand why you're "rushing round like a lunatic". One phone call - that's all that is needed. Two calls if you want to alert the retailer as well, which isn't a bad idea - but you should call the manufacturer first because they will be able to use the batch number to figure out where the affected nappies went, and contact all the stores that received nappies from that batch.

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Tuesday 18th August 07:56

[TheAllSeeingPie]

Baryonyx said:

Shrapnel? What do you mean by shrapnel?

Looking at the photos I think he means it in the literal sense: shards of metal casing from something that's exploded / disintegrated.

[Matt_N]

AWRacing said:

I know there is the whole naming and shaming rule but is this one of the leading brands (does it start with a P or an H) or supermarket own?

We've always used P's and i've never found anything in them (to date).

I'd be inclined to contact the manufacturer and explain to them.

With a 7 month old going through nappies like there is no tomorrow, they look like ones that may rhyme with something you'd take your picnic out in.

Quite shocking to see metal fragments embedded in the pad of the nappy, you would think that perhaps they would have metal screening / detectors on the production line to avoid such instances?

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Matt_N said:

you would think that perhaps they would have metal screening / detectors on the production line to avoid such instances?

Which would push the price of the product up. And it would *only* detect fragments of metal - what about other contaminants? How far do you want to go with checking the product's safety?

The fact is that we all choose the level of safety we're prepared to pay for. Let's imagine two brands of nappies: Brand A and Brand B. Let's imagine that these two brands are very similar in quality, except that Brand B employs people to check every nappy before it is packed to ensure there's nothing wrong with it. As a result of the extra labour and logistical cost, Brand B costs 10% more. Unfortunately, the buying public don't know the reason for the extra cost (they're hardly likely to splash "we check every nappy to make sure it hasn't got shards of metal in it" on the packet) so the outcome is that Brand B sells fewer nappies than Brand A.

Unfortunately, bad things occasionally happen in this world. Humans haven't yet worked out how to make perfect machines that never fail, as has probably happened in this case. That's why there's no point getting angry about it, especially since it sounds like no lasting harm has occurred. The manufacturer will want to put it right ASAP, and will probably compensate the OP, who can then move on with life.

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Tuesday 18th August 08:46

[tapereel]

Stop over-reacting princess; take them back to the shop you got them from.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

tapereel said:

Stop over-reacting princess; take them back to the shop you got them from.

^ This. They can contact the manufacturer for you. And I know I keep saying it, but if there's a batch number on the packet that will be crucial information.

Of course, if compensashun is what you're after, contact both the manufacturer and the retailer yourself - you might get two payouts.

And if you want the Daily Mail to print a picture of you holding a nappy and looking grumpy, fill yer boots.

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Tuesday 18th August 09:20

[Sump]

Typical overreaction in hope to score stuff for free.

[The Beaver King]

Sump said:

Typical overreaction in hope to score stuff for free.

Usually I would agree, but not in this case...

This is akin to finding shards of glass in your food, so I think OP has every right to kick off. More so, as it is to do with his child.

Regarding compo/freebies; why the hell not? Seeing as OP is probably spending £50-£75 a month on nappies at the moment, I'd be after something in return as well.

This doesn't look like a typical case of crying wolf to get some free stuff.


OP, contact the manufacturer, kick up a fuss, send them pictures and one of the nappies.

[Muncher]

What do you want to achieve? Has anyone been hurt?

[ORD]

PH's rabid anti-"compensation" brigade are out in force.

If a was the OP, I would be at the company's HQ by now and demanding to speak to the most senior person in quality control / safety. I would also, very definitely, go to the press.

An efficient market requires that f*cks be punished with adverse publicity.

[Vaud]

Retailer and manufacturer (Twitter is the fastest)

Trading standards will only be interested if there was intent or if the manufacturer/retailer don't do anything. But all big manufacturers and retailers have a process in place.

If you go to the shop, ask for the manager. Keep notes.

After all, it's in the manufacturers interest (especially for "high trust" items like baby food, nappies) to maintain quality and trust with the parent.

Stuff happens. No malice. Stop raging.

Edited by Vaud on Tuesday 18th August 09:56

[littleredrooster]

Sump said:

Typical overreaction in hope to score stuff for free.

You seem to imply that faulty (or in this case, downright dangerous) goods are quite acceptable. Not in my household they're not - especially something which has an effect on children/grandchildren.

OP - the word to describe this may be 'swarf' rather than shrapnel, although I can't really see it clearly enough. (Swarf is the bits of metal produced when metal is machined.)

I'd be asking questions at Trading Standards, or whatever they're called now, as well as writing to the shop and the manufacturer. Given where a nappy fits, this could have serious consequences for babies.

[senorblm]

Always puzzles me when people ask for this type of advice when the answer is self evident.

There is a problem with the product, there will be a helpline on the packaging or you take it back to the retailer that you purchased the item from. This is the same procedure for any other faulty product you have bought in your life ever. The only difference really is that this is a matter of safety, so the logical thing would be to contact the manufacturer as a matter of urgency rather than post on a forum for car enthusiasts.