Where can I find information about recalls?

This week we will be taking a deeper look at defective products and how the government issues recalls. We often hear about products being recalled from news reports either online or during a television broadcast. Some of our readers may wonder if there is one place they can go to find out about all possible recalls that could affect them.

There actually is a convenient place to find out what products are considered hazardous, unsafe or defective. The site is called www.recalls.gov. The site came to be as a group effort between six different agencies: the United States Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission, the United States Coast Guard, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The site lists recalls in various categories including cosmetics, environmental products, food, medicine, motor vehicles, boats and consumer products. The site will help you figure out what the most recent recalls are and who to contact regarding the recall.

Although this site does its best to inform people of unsafe products, sometimes consumers learn about a dangerous product only after they have been injured by it. If those involved in the creation and distribution of the product acted negligently in their handling of the issue, a consumer may be able to receive compensation for his or her injuries. When we exchange our hard-earned money for a product, we are putting our faith and trust in that product and its producers.