Nina Roofe

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalls several infant products for choking, fall hazards

By Rebekah Hall
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Parents of infants and young children should immediately stop using four products recalled Aug. 1 by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission for fall, suffocation and ingestion hazards.

SAFETY FIRST — Parents of infants and young children should prioritize safety and quality when it comes to the products they purchase for their children. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recently recalled four infant products for choking, fall and ingestion hazards, which parents should immediately stop using. (Division of Agriculture graphic.) 

Nina Roofe, extension assistant vice president of family and consumer sciences for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said that after parents stop using these products, they should contact the manufacturer to find out what options are available.

“They may be entitled to a refund, repair or replacement for the recalled item,” Roofe said. “Usually, guidelines are issued with the recall for returning or disposing of the recalled item, like taking it back to the place of purchase, mailing it to the manufacturer or disposing of it safely.

“Parents should also document to the CPSC if their child was injured by the product,” Roofe said. “If the item is required, such as a crib or a car seat, then a replacement that is safe must be found.”

The recalled products include:

Beberoad Love New Moon Travel Bassinets: These bassinets violate federal safety regulations for Infant Sleep Products because they do not have a stand, posing a fall hazard if used on elevated surfaces. Only bassinets manufactured on or after June 23, 2022, are included in this recall.

Papablic Infant Swings: These swings pose a suffocation risk because they were marketed, intended or designed for infant sleep, and they have an incline angle greater than 10 degrees, which violates the federal safety regulations for Infant Sleep Products. They also violate other requirements for infant swings and the labeling requirements for Reese’s Law because the remote contains a button or coin-cell battery.

LED Light-up Jelly Ring Toys by Attom Tech: These toys violate the mandatory federal battery-operated toy regulation because the rings contain button cell batteries, which can be easily accessed without a common household tool. When button cell batteries are swallowed, the ingested batteries can cause serious injuries, internal chemical burns and death, posing an ingestion hazard to children.

RH Baby & Child Jeune French Contemporary Upholstered Panel Cribs: The cylindrical metal inserts in the crib’s wooden frame can become loose and detach, posing a choking hazard.

Brompton T-Line Foldable Bicycles: A loss of alignment between the handlebar and front wheel, due to insufficient torquing of steerer clamp bolts, can cause the rider to lose control of the steering, posing a fall hazard.

Avocado Organic Cotton Mattress Pad Protectors: The recalled mattress pads violate the mandatory federal flammability regulation for mattress pads, posing a fire hazard.

Roofe said consumers who have purchased a recalled product can usually get a refund, replacement, exchange or repair of the recalled item. If a significant injury occurred, then financial compensation may be pursued through the legal system.

For parents of infants and young children, Roofe recommends they focus on the safety and quality of the products they purchase.

  • Before purchasing any baby products, research safety features, reviews and ratings.

  • Look for safety certifications such as the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association.

  • Follow age and weight recommendations, especially for car seats, cribs and toys, to ensure they are appropriate for the child’s size and development.

  • Register products with the manufacturer to receive recall and safety information updates.

  • Beware of used or second-hand products for babies, as they may not meet current safety standards.

  • Refer to the American Academy of Pediatrics and Bright Futures for recommendations on safety standards, guidelines and recommendations for baby products. Family and friends are well-meaning, but they are not the experts.

Informed consumers are safe consumers

Roofe said it’s critical for consumers and business owners to be aware of product recalls and follow CPSC guidelines.

“Recalled products pose a risk to consumers’ health and safety,” she said. “Being aware of recalls and following guidelines helps us avoid dangerous products and prevent accidents and injuries. If we own a business and ignore safety recalls, there could be damage to the business’s reputation and legal consequences if someone is injured as a result of using a recalled product.”

To stay up to speed on product recalls, Roofe recommended the following steps for consumers:

  • Sign up for email alerts from the Consumer Product Safety Commission at gov/Newsroom/Subscribe.

  • Check the Food and Drug Administration website for product recalls and consumer resources at gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/recall-resources.

  • Follow trusted news outlets and set alerts on your phone or computer to stay informed.

  • Monitor social media, especially for products of interest, such as infant and child products, digital products and supplements.

  • Register your products when you make a purchase. This allows the manufacturer to contact you directly if that product is recalled.

The U.S. CPSC is an independent federal agency responsible for protecting the public from risks of injury or death from the use of consumer products.

“Its work is carried out by setting and enforcing safety standards on a variety of products, such as toys, cribs and appliances; conducting research and testing; investigating product safety concerns and issuing recalls; working with manufacturers to address safety concerns; and educating consumers about product recalls and safety alerts,” Roofe said.

To learn more about extension Family and Consumer Sciences resources, visit the Personal and Family Well-Being webpage.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Roofe elected Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics board speaker

By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture

CHICAGO — Nina Roofe has been elected to serve a one-year term as speaker of the house of delegates for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.

Roofe, assistant vice president for Family and Consumer Sciences for the Cooperative Extension Service at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, began her term on June 1 and will serve until May 31, 2025. She just completed a one-year term as speaker-elect.

“It has been an honor serving as speaker-elect this past year,” she said. “I look forward to leading the house of delegates this year. I work with the best of the best when it comes to movers and shakers in the world of dietetics and nutrition. Together we can achieve great results.”

Nina Roofe, of Conway, Arkansas, will serve as the speaker of the house of delegates for a national nutrition and dietetics organization. She is head of Family and Consumer Sciences for the Cooperative Exension Service. (U of A System Division of Agriuclture photo)

Roofe said she and the other board members listen to, identify, and respond to critical issues facing the profession of nutrition and dietetics.

“Currently we are engaged with two issues. In one, we are mobilizing educators, professionals, and industry experts across the nation to ascertain how to best use artificial intelligence in classrooms and worksites, and to solve challenges ethically and innovatively,” she said.

“For the second issue, we are studying the issue of student enrollment in dietetics and nutrition programs at all levels nationwide to determine how much of the decline is due to the shift in demographics versus other factors like the mandatory master’s degree, pay scale, or perceived respect by others on the healthcare team,” Roofe said.

Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Board of Directors for 2024-2025 are: 

  • Carl Barnes, MS, RDN, LDN, Director-at-Large (Rockville, Maryland)
    Barnes is the executive director of The Wholesome Village Inc., in Germantown, Maryland, and the president of United Nutrition Group LLC and Chow Solutions LLC, both in Kensington, Maryland.

  • Don Bradley, MD, MHS, CL, Public Member (Durham, North Carolina)
    Bradley is a consulting professor at Duke University School of Medicine and core faculty member at the Duke Margolis Institute for Health Policy. He retired from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina in 2014 after serving as senior vice president for health care and chief medical officer.

  • Deanne Brandstetter, MBA, RDN, CDN, FAND, President-elect (Naples, Florida)
    Brandstetter is vice president of nutrition and wellness at Compass Group North America, a global food service company, author of numerous scientific journal articles and book chapters, and a speaker to professional and consumer groups.

  • Harlivleen "Livleen" Gill, MBA, RDN, LDN, FAND, President (Bethesda, Maryland)
    Gill is president and CEO of Apostle Group LLC, a consulting company that provides innovative solutions to clients in health care, food and nutrition. She is also the CEO of The Wholesome Village Inc., a non-profit centered on equitable access to healthful foods.

  • Amanda Goldman, MS, RD, LD, FAND, Treasurer (Lexington, Kentucky)
    Goldman is the system vice president of Food and Nutrition Services at CommonSpirit Health, where she leads the overall food service and clinical nutrition operations for their national program.

  • Leslene Gordon, PhD, RDN, LDN, Director-at-Large (Lutz, Florida)
    Gordon retired in 2023 as the Hillsborough County community health director for the Florida Department of Health, where she had worked since 2005. She is an affiliate assistant professor at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.

  • RoseAnna Holliday, PhD, MPH, RDN, LD, FAND, Speaker-elect (Twin Falls, Idaho)
    Holliday is an assistant professor and former chair of the department of health sciences human services at the College of Southern Idaho.

  • Suzanne Jiménez, MS, RDN, LND, Director-at-Large (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico)
    Jiménez is a public health dietitian and currently works at Head Start/Early Head Start Quintana Baptist Church, providing nutrition-related services and education to program participants, families and staff.

  • Sherri Jones, MS, MBA, RDN, LDN, FAND, House of Delegates Director (Wexford, Pennsylvania)
    Jones was a clinical nutrition manager for 13 years before transitioning into quality improvement in 2012 and earning her Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality national certification in 2020. She was formerly the quality manager at UPMC Presbyterian Shadyside.

  • Young Hee Kim, MS, RD, LDN, CNSC, FAND, House of Delegates Director (Windsor Locks, Connecticut)
    Kim most recently worked as a clinical nutrition manager from 2012 to 2023 at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

  • Marcy Kyle, RDN, LD, FAND, Foundation Chair (Rockport, Maine)
    Kyle provides nutrition counseling via telehealth for the diabetes management and nutrition programs at Eastport Health Care (EHC), a Federally Qualified Health Center in rural Maine, and nutrition education for Penobscot Bay YMCA and EHC distance Diabetes Prevention Programs.

  • Ainsley Malone, MS, RDN, LD, FAND, Past Speaker (New Albany, Ohio)
    Malone is a clinical practice specialist with the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition.

  • Patty Riskind, MBA, Public Member (Chicago)
    Riskind is a healthcare technology leader and most recently served as the chief executive officer and is now the board chair of Orbita.

  • Christina Rollins, MBA, MS, RD, LD, FAND, Treasurer-elect (Rochester, Illinois)
    Rollins is the owner of Rollins Nutrition, LLC. She is also the finance administrator in the Department of Surgery at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine.

  • Nina Roofe, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, Speaker (Conway, Arkansas)
    Roofe is the assistant vice president for Family and Consumer Sciences at the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in Little Rock, Ark.

  • Tracy Wilczek, MS, RDN, LDN, FAND, House of Delegates Director (Boston)
    Wilczek is a regional wellness director with FLIK Hospitality in Boston.

  • Lauri Wright, PhD, RDN, LDN, FAND, Past President (Tampa, Florida)
    Wright is an associate professor and the director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida's College of Public Health.

  • Krista Yoder, MPH, RDN, LDN, FAND, Past Treasurer (Miami Beach, Florida)
    Yoder is the chief operating officer of Eat Ahara®.

  • Wylecia Wiggs Harris, PhD, CAE, Chief Executive Officer (Chicago)
    Harris has oversight of all entities under the Academy's umbrella and is also the chief executive officer of the Academy's Foundation.

Representing more than 112,000 credentialed nutrition and dietetics practitioners, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow us on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk. 

Groce, West honored by University of Central Arkansas

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

CONWAY, Ark. — Mary Beth Groce and Joy West took two very different paths to wind up as award-winning family and consumer science agents for the Cooperative Extension Service.

West of Jackson County and Groce, the Faulkner County extension staff chair, were honored by the University of Central Arkansas as distinguished alumni. West earned the Distinguished Alumni Award for graduates of the Nutrition and Family Science Department, while Groce was recognized with the department’s Young Achiever Award in a ceremony on March 5.

From left, Joy West, Jackson County extension agent, Nina Roofe, head of FCS for the Cooperative Extension Service, and Mary Beth Groce, Faulkner County extension staff chair. Taken March 5, 2024. (UCA image)

Family and Consumer Sciences, formerly known as home economics, covers a broad range of topics including personal finance, health, family living and nutrition. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture conducts outreach for this discipline in all 75 counties of Arkansas through the Cooperative Extension Service.

Mary Beth Groce
Groce was recognized with the Young Achiever Award, which is presented to alumni within 15 years of graduation who demonstrate emerging leadership and professional achievements in FCS. After graduation, Mary Beth was hired by the Cooperative Extension Service and will celebrate her 10 years with the Cooperative Extension Service in September.

"I am incredibly excited for Mary Beth and her achievements,” said Sherry Beaty-Sullivan, Ozark District director for the Cooperative Extension Service. “What an honor to be named Young Achiever of the Year from UCA's Department of Nutrition and Family Sciences! We are proud of her and all of her accomplishments as an agent and young professional.”

Kevin Lawson, a long-time co-worker and Faulkner County extension agent, praised Groce for her mentoring skills and continued partnership with UCA.

“She has been interning students from UCA for several years and we have gone on to hire those interns as agents,” Lawson said. “I am super proud of how hard she works and her partnership with UCA has been beneficial to UCA and to extension.  She has given so much knowledge to FCS majors at UCA and her impact will always be with these young FCS professionals.”

Working for the Cooperative Extension Service was almost a foregone conclusion for Groce who graduated in 2104 with a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science.

“I grew up in 4-H from a Cloverbud through an Ambassador, and was always involved with extension, but it wasn't until I had Mrs. Judy Riley as a teacher at UCA that I considered it as a career,” Groce said. “Mrs. Riley asked what I wanted to do with my degree, and I told her that I wanted to help people in the most practical ways possible. 

“She naturally started the conversation about becoming an extension agent, and almost 10 years later with my master’s degree and as a staff chair, I think she was right,” Groce said.

Riley was Delta District director for the Cooperative Extension Service and is an adjunct instructor at UCA. She continues to be involved as a member of the Arkansas 4-H Foundation Board of Directors.

Joy West
UCA’s Distinguished Alumni Award is for graduates of the Nutrition and Family Science Department who demonstrate outstanding accomplishments and leadership in family and consumer science professions.

West graduated from UCA with bachelor’s degree in home economics in 1990, something that almost didn’t happen.

“Just four years before, the UCA board had thought to dismiss the department thinking it was no longer needed,” West said. “My father, James Griffith, was the superintendent of South Side, Bee Branch and spoke at the hearing with other school superintendents to request the program stay. 

“Dr. Mary Harlan, department chair, told me he said, ‘I have a sad little girl at home right now’,” West said. “I’m not sure his argument swayed the board, but the department stayed and actually grew much larger during my time at UCA.”   

West’s extension career almost didn’t happen either.

“When I graduated, I had no intention of working for extension,” she said, adding that she had planned to teach high school family and consumer sciences for my entire career. “But life changes your intent sometimes.”

West took a break from teaching to focus on her children but couldn’t find a school where she wanted to teach. A suggestion from one of her sisters  steered West toward extension.

“After accepting the position in Yell County I learned this type of education was quite gratifying,” West said. “I was attracted to the continual change and freedom to choose programs that were of interest to the many different groups I could serve. 

“Although I miss the school atmosphere and influence you can have on the lives of so many students, having 4-H responsibilities gives me back a sense of this,” she said. “I plan to stay with extension and continue using the knowledge I was gratefully given while at UCA.”

Carla Due, Ouachita District director for the Cooperative Extension Service and a former family and consumer science agent, said West is an exceptional agent who serves in leadership roles in her professional organization both in Arkansas and on a national level.

“Joy is innovative in addressing the clientele’s needs,” Due said. “We are happy to have her in Jackson County.”

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.

Roofe named head of Family and Consumer Sciences for extension

By Tracy Courage
U of A System Division of Agriculture

LITTLE ROCK — Helping people live better has been at the heart of Nina Roofe’s career – as a longtime registered dietitian, as a professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Family Sciences at the University of Central Arkansas, and now in her new leadership role as assistant vice president of Family and Consumer Sciences for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

LEADER — Nina Roofe is the new assistant vice president for Family and Consumer Sciences at the Cooperative Extension Service. (UADA photo)

Roofe started Sept. 25 and will ensure research-based programming is available to meet the needs of Arkansans in the areas of food and nutrition, food safety and preservation, health and exercise, personal finance, home safety, early childhood and mental health.

“Family and Consumer Sciences has always appealed to me because it takes a holistic approach — meeting people where they are, where they live, where they work. It’s practical. It’s all about helping people and helping them improve their lives,” she said.

“You can design a nutritiously balanced plate of food and teach someone how to cook, but if they can’t afford to buy the food or if they live somewhere without a kitchen, it doesn’t work. You can’t just do health and wellness, or nutrition, or home safety, or consumer economics,” she said. “It’s all intertwined with family life, so you have to look at the whole picture.”

The Division of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension Service employs Family and Consumer Science agents in every county of the state. Roofe plans to visit agents in the coming months to assess needs that exist throughout the state and ensure that extension is offering the best programs to meet those needs with resources available.

“Dr. Roofe has more than 32 years of experience and brings a wealth of knowledge to the position,” said Bob Scott, senior associate vice president for agriculture-extension and director of the Cooperative Extension Service. “I am excited for her to join our team.”

Family and Consumer Sciences is one of four extension units. Other units include Agriculture and Natural Resources, 4-H, and Community Professional and Economic Development. Roofe’s position is a newly restructured one. Before Roofe’s hire, one person oversaw both Family and Consumer Sciences and Arkansas 4-H.

“It needed to be two positions because they are two separate units,” Scott said.

A career bucket list

Working for extension has been on Roofe’s “career bucket list.”

She grew up in Izard County on a beef cattle farm and was involved in 4-H, the youth leadership program of the Division of Agriculture. Her great aunt was a home economist in Izard County, and her great uncle ran the Soil Conservation Service. Her husband’s stepfather was also an extension agent.


“I feel like I’ve always had the extension gene,” she said.

Before joining the Division of Agriculture, Roofe was a professor and chair of the Department of Nutrition and Family Sciences in the College of Health & Behavioral Sciences at UCA, where she has taught since 2002.

“I love teaching,” Roofe said. “I swore I’d never be a teacher because my parents were both public school teachers, and I saw their struggles, but I love it. You’re reaching students, and they touch lives. It’s a ripple effect.”

Roofe has a Bachelor of Science in Dietetics from the University of Central Arkansas; a Master of Science in Corporate Health Promotion from the University of Arkansas; and Ph.D in Family and Consumer Sciences Education from Iowa State University.

To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.