Consumers must remain diligent to track all recalls

Consumers must remain diligent to track all recalls

From toys to meat to automobiles, it's almost too much to keep up with the defects

Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News

Published: Saturday, March 28, 2009

A young mother wants to know if the toy manufacturer's safety recall includes her child's favourite rattle. A man eyes ground beef suspiciously after hearing of an E. coli scare. A driver calls the dealership to see if his car is affected by a braking system recall.

Recalls have been making headlines frequently in the past year. Melamine contamination of baby formula led to numerous food recalls after it was learned some unscrupulous Chinese manufacturers use the kidney-damaging product as a food additive. Maple Leaf Foods issued a massive recall of its products because of listeriosis contamination that ultimately contributed to the deaths of 20 Canadians. In January, a mass peanut butter recall jumped the border into Canada after a salmonella outbreak sickened 453 people and contributed to five deaths in 43 states. Products are still being recalled as a result of that investigation.

Distributing recall information, especially when health is at stake, is essential, but with so many recalls and advisories issued every week, how does a consumer stay on top of it all?

In the digital age, consumers have an advantage their parents lacked: The Internet. But in the vast reaches of the World Wide Web, information can easily get lost. Manufacturers and consumers notify government agencies when they become aware of a concern. If the concern is serious, the media is usually contacted to get the word out.

But not all alerts receive the kind of attention as last year's listeriosis scare or toy recall. Some product recalls aren't serious enough to warrant media notification, or may include so many different products it's too much for media outlets to list every item or product code.

Public notification can be a challenge for the people who issue recalls.

"There's no national system in place for recalls," says Anthony Toderian, spokesman for the Canadian Standards Association, which tests products for safety. When manufacturing defects pose safety hazards, CSA can issue a recall.

FULL STORYl: http://www2.canada.com/nanaimodailynews/story.html?id=857e0d8c-a0f7-40e1-9ace-d8aafcd11af2