Back in July, Nuby announced a U.S. recall of its entire stock of gel-filled teethers, a month after Health Canada recalled more than 125,000 Nuby teethers in Canada. The cause? Bacteria found in the liquid that wasn't supposed to be there, which could cause health effects in infants with compromised immune systems. So when Health Canada recalled about 2,500 liquid-filled teethers made by German company Natursutten yesterday, we had to wonder if history would repeat itself.

Canada's requirements for liquid-filled teethers are more different than those in the U.S. As we wrote back in July:

Our neighbor to the north requires the water in teethers to be sterile, i.e. to be free of all bacteria. U.S. (FDA) standards use two alternative tests - one to ensure that the preservative added to the liquid in teethers kills any bacteria that is introduced to the liquid, and another to test the liquid itself for the presence of certain strains of bacteria that are considered dangerous enough to be banned. In other words, there are certain bacteria that can be found in a teether in the U.S. and still be legally sold.

Health Canada recalled 125,000 of Nuby's teethers distributed in that country for failing their own standard, i.e. containing bacteria, period; in that case, Bacillus cereus, explaining that the bacteria was not thought to be dangerous to the general population, but could cause "stomach pain, vomiting, and diarrhea" in those with a compromised immune system.

After the recall was announced, the FDA contacted Luv n' Care and asked them to have some tests performed. Teethers were tested from two "batches" (according to company executive Joseph Hakim, the number of products in a "batch" varies, but can number in the thousands). In the samples tested from one batch, they found one type of bacteria, Bacillus subtilis. In samples from the other batch, they found Bacillus circulans. Both of these appear to pose the same level of risk as the strain found in the Canadian case.

These weren't the bacterial strains the FDA was looking for, and they were, technically speaking, permissible, but Luv n' Care opted to issue a recall of some 30 batches of liquid-filled teethers - everything on the U.S. market at present - and will take back older liquid-filled teethers as well. The FDA's language on the threat posed by this bacteria mirrored that of the Canadian recall.

The strains found in the Natursutten teethers recalled yesterday were different from those found in Nuby's teethers, but the warning was the same: "These bacteria generally do not cause illness. However, the bacteria may cause infection in children with weakened immune systems if the teether is punctured and the liquid filling from the teether is ingested or enters open wounds." Please be aware that this is not limited to children with persistent conditions or health problems - being sick is one form of a weakened immune system.

Here's what's even more interesting. The model Nuby adopted for its nationwide teether recall aggravated and infuriated parents by providing UPC codes but no images of recalled teethers - a recall designed to get unsold teethers returned to the company for irradiation, but poorly suited to assisting consumers in returning contaminated products. (We went through their online product catalog and matched up UPC codes with product images for consumers.) So far, the Natursutten recall seems to be following the same pattern - although Natursutten's teethers are only in two designs, unlike Nuby's dozens of confusingly-named models, but Natursutten's Canadian recall lists UPC codes, but does not describe whether this represents every teether sold under these designs or just certain batches of them. We contacted Natursutten's Canadian distributor, Monarch Distributing, to ask what consumers with used teethers should do with them - you know, in the unlikely event that they hadn't filed the packaging away for future reference. Were there any other identifying markings? Here's what Monarch's Al Husein wrote in a rapid response to our query:

If the packaging is no longer available and the teether is in use, it should be returned to the store for a refund or credit.

We'll be returning to that statement next month if a U.S. recall is issued. In the meantime, this appears to be one of the few areas of consumer product recalls (as distinct from government policy on hazardous chemicals) in which Canada leads and the U.S. follows. We'd encourage parents to either keep a close eye on their child's Natursutten teethers to make sure they do not appear weakened or likely to break or leak, to discontinue use during periods when their child might be sick, or to offer their child a different teether altogether.