The Big Safety Standard in the Sky
02-16-2010
By Dave Schmeltzer
Over the last decade, thousands of products have been flagged as potentially hazardous under the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) Section 15b. In fact, the CPSC receives an average of about two such reports every day. As a result, the Agency initiates about 400 recalls every year, mostly under Section 15b. Your recall management team cannot afford to ignore trends in Section 15b reports and the recalls that follow, particularly when formulating your recall strategy and planning.
Generally, the Section 15b recall process requires a corrective action plan that includes halting the distribution and sale of the affected product. Recall requirements also typically include provisions requiring that the consumer receive a repaired product, a replacement, or a refund.
But this only scratches the surface of the safety impact of Section 15b.
Section 15b includes reporting requirements for manufacturers, importers, distributors and retailers of consumer products. Under the law, you are required to immediately report information that reasonably indicates that a product poses a substantial hazard to consumers. The theory behind Section 15b is that companies are likely to learn of potential hazardous products first. While the Consumer Product Safety Act provides many ways in which the Commission can learn of hazardous products, none of these tools are as effective at reducing these hazards as Section 15b. But Section 15b should not be the only way to make sure that potential hazards are identified and consumers warned.
The Commission cannot order a recall without considering the broader implications of the event. When a company reports a potential hazard and recalls its product, the industry can expect the Commission to investigate the possibility of the problem applying to similar products. Further, a recall that identifies a broad safety problem will be cause for the Commission to apply pressure to industry associations and voluntary standards groups to act on behalf of consumer safety.
We’ve seen this before and we’ll see it again. Over the past few months there have been massive recalls of strollers and cribs. Soon after, the CPSC moved to recall more strollers from various importers. CPSC Chairman Inez Tenenbaum also urged voluntary standards development organization ASTM to expedite changes in crib integrity standards.
As a responsible company, you must work with your legal counsel and pay attention to recalls involving your competitors and others in your industry. When one company recalls a product that creates a substantial hazard, you must carefully scrutinize the reason for the recall and determine whether the risk also applies to any of your own products.
Likewise, your industry associations should stay abreast of recall events and the impact those events may have on its members. To further assist member companies, industry associations need to fully understand the reasons for a recall and consider setting voluntary standards that will help the industry as a whole avoid similar risks in the future.
Stericycle ExpertRECALL™ is the industry leader in recall logistics and regulatory compliance for consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls. ExpertRECALL’s professionals are experts in recall management who can help you streamline the entire product recall process.
[...] testing before and after distribution. Once the product is distributed and sold the company should continuously monitor and evaluate complaints, inquiries, injuries, customer feedback, warranty claims, and recalls of similar [...]