Product Safety and Complaints

There are many thousands of products available for you and your child, unfortunately, not all of them are safe, and even if a product has passed the necessary safety requirements, it may still have the potential to cause harm in certain circumstances.

Should you be unfortunate enough to encounter such an incident, it should be reported to the regulating body or agency for that product so that the public at large can be alerted to any danger and the product re-evaluated or withdrawn as necessary.

When and How to File a Complaint

Any time that you have a product that you think is unsafe or causes an injury or death you should report that product to the proper federal agency. Even if your child has not suffered serious injury, alerting the proper federal agency of a potential hazard can save the lives of many children.

Which agency to contact about your complaint

U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)

CPSC has jurisdiction over about 15,000 types of consumer products including most products made for children. If you believe you or your child has been injured by a consumer product, or if you believe a product is unsafe, you should:

• Call CPSC at (800) 638-2772; TTY for the hearing or speech impaired: (800) 638-8270) between 8:30am and 5:00pm (Eastern time) Monday through Friday, except holidays;
• Go online to www.cpsc.gov/incident.html and fill out a Consumer Product Incident Report; or
• Write CPSC at US Consumer Product Safety Commission, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4408.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) http://www.nhtsa.gov/

NHTSA oversees the safety of motor vehicles or motor vehicle equipment including car seats protecting children in on-road vehicles. If a safety-related defect exists in a motor vehicle or item of motor vehicle equipment, the manufacturer must fix it at no cost to the owner. Your report is the first step in the process. You can report a problem by:

• calling NHTSA at (888) 327-4236;
• going to the NHTSA website at www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/ivoq/default.htm and filling out the form; or
• printing the form out and faxing it to (202) 366-7882; or
• mailing the form to: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Defects Investigation, NSA-10.01, 400 7th Street, SW, Washington, DC 20590.

Your report will be entered into the NHTSA vehicle owner's complaint database and used with other reports to determine if a safety-related defect trend exists.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) www.fsis.usda.gov/

FSIS inspects and regulates meat and poultry products and pasteurized egg products (eggs that have been removed from their shells for further processing).

For general questions about meat and poultry call USDA's FSIS Food Safety Education Staff Meat and Poultry Hotline: (800) 535-4555 (Toll-free Nationwide); (202) 720-3333 (Washington, DC area); (800) 256-7072 (TDD/TTY)

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)http://www.fda.gov/.

FDA is the federal government agency responsible for the safety of: most domestic foods sold in interstate commerce, including shell eggs; drugs; cosmetics and medical devices. It is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). FDA responds to consumer requests for information and publications on foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, radiation-emitting products, and veterinary products between 8a.m.and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

FDA is able to recall unsafe products and has enacted many regulations regarding the manufacture of the products they regulate. To report a hazardous product:

• If the situation is an emergency that requires immediate action, such as a case of food-borne illness or a drug product that has been tampered with, call the agency's main emergency number, staffed 24 hours a day, 301-443-1240.
• You can also report emergencies and non-emergencies to the FDA district office consumer complaint coordinator for your geographic area. You can find the phone number for your geographic area at www.fda.gov/opacom/backgrounders/complain.html.

If you have comments or general questions you can contact FDA by:

• Mail: Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857
• Phone: (888) 463-6332 -- main FDA Phone Number (for general inquiries). This number is NOT to report problem products or adverse reactions.
• For questions about seafood, call the FDA's Seafood Hotline at (800) 332-4010.

You can report adverse reactions and other problems related to vaccines, by calling the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is maintained by FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For a copy of the vaccine reporting form, call (800) 822-7967 or get a copy of the form from the FDA Website at www.fda.gov/cber/vaers/vaers.htm.

For information about how to report adverse reactions to cosmetics, as well as problems such as filth, decomposition, or spoilage, call FDA's Office of Cosmetics and Colors at (202)-401-9725 for information on how to report. You may also send your reports in writing to: FDA, Office of Cosmetics and Colors (HFS-100), 200 C St., SW, Washington, DC 20204.

FDA reporting guidelines:

• Report what happened as soon as possible. Give names, addresses and phone numbers of persons affected. Include your name, address and phone number, as well as that of the doctor or hospital if emergency treatment was provided.
• State the problem clearly. Describe the product as completely as possible, including any codes or identifying marks on the label or container. Give the name and address of the store where the product was purchased and the date of purchase.
• You also should report the problem to the manufacturer or distributor shown on the label and to the store where you purchased the product.