How to Find Out About Product Recalls

In a society with thousands of manufacturers pumping out millions of different products every day, it's not surprising that some of these products have defects. While some major recall notices make it to the front pages of the news, most remain unnoticed.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• File Cabinets
• ISPs And Internet Connections
• E-mail Accounts
• File Folders
• Computers

1. Search for recalls by product type at the Web site of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (cpsc.gov), an independent federal regulatory agency.

2. Go to the easily navigated sites of the Food and Drug Administration (fda.gov), the Food Safety and Inspection Service (fsis.usda.gov), and the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission (nhtsa.dot.gov).

3. Subscribe to these organizations' e-mail alert services if you don't visit their sites regularly.

4. Search through the government agencies' archived information at their Web sites for the products you already own.

5. Contact the manufacturer for further instructions if you own a product that has been recalled.

Tips & Warnings

• If you own a product that seems unsafe, you can report it to the appropriate consumer protection agency.

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on 11/22/2005 You never know when a product will be recalled. Keeping the papers that originally came with new products together in a filing cabinet will help you when you hear about a product recall.