The Consumer Product Safety Commission previewed a new online public database Tuesday to make it easier for consumers to submit and review reports about dangerous products.
Set to launch on March 11, 2011, the database at www.saferproducts.gov will enable consumers to search products and companies to find out if other consumers have reported incidents of risk or injury. The database is the result of Congressional legislation in 2008 requiring the CPSC to give consumers better access to information about the products they own or that they might purchase. The database will be limited to consumer products used in and around the home, excluding cars, food and medicine.
The CPSC, based in Bethesda, Maryland, is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from approximately 15,000 products. Last year, the agency issued 365 recalls affecting hundreds of millions of units.
Until now, the general public has found out about dangerous consumer products after a recall has been announced. Typically the CPSC and a manufacturer jointly declare a recall, sometimes after months of negotiations involving data analysis and a review of medical reports and consumer complaints. Previously, only requests through the Freedom of Information Act would reveal the details of consumer complaints. Going forward, the public will be able to review potential problems with a product before a recall is declared, if at all.
At Tuesday’s web conference, CPSC Commissioner Robert Adler said that while the database will share more information about dangerous products than in years past, it’s an additional tool the agency will use to inform the public. “The database is not a panacea, nor will it solve all of our consumer product safety problems,” said Adler.
Addressing manufacturers’ concerns about the validity of the complaints, Adler said, “The database can be a help as well as a point of concern. It can provide you with quick feedback about problems with products. It can give you information that is industry-wide so you can determine whether you have a narrow problem or whether everyone has the problem. And it will be administered in a very thoughtful and balanced way with ample due process protection for you.”
Ming Zhu, the CPSC’s project manager for the database, added a disclaimer, stating that the agency cannot guarantee the accuracy of the data that the public submits.
To file a report online, consumers will type the product’s name, when it was used, when the incident occurred, and other information such as model numbers and serial numbers. Consumers may post reports anonymously, but the agency will require personal contact information in order to publish the information to the database, even though the agency has insisted it will maintain the privacy of consumers and hide all contact information from the general public. In addition, a person who submits a report can choose whether to share his or her contact information with the product’s manufacturer or retailer so the company can follow up with the consumer.
Each completed report will be reviewed by CPSC staff before it is sent to the manufacturer or retailer for comment. The company will then have 10 days to respond to the CPSC in writing before the report is released to the public via the database. At the company’s request, its comments will be included in the publicly-viewed report.
To be included in the database, the product must demonstrate an actual or potential risk or harm to one’s safety. Complaints about poor product quality or customer service will not be accepted.
