A banner year for product safety

We can’t remember a year when product safety garnered so much public attention.  Consumer confidence was shaken as we saw recall after recall on toys, tires, toothpaste, and more. We dubbed 2007 “The Year of the Recall.”

Here are some of the more prominent safety recalls and related issues that we highlighted in this blog:

• Peanut butter: possible salmonella contamination.
• Easy -Bake Ovens: burn and hand entrapment hazards.
• Millions of Maytag, Jenn-Air and GE dishwashers: fire hazards.
• Millions of popular toys: excessive levels of lead paint.
• Millions of pieces of children's jewelry: high lead content.
• Millions of toys containing small magnets: risk of internal injuries.
• Pet food containing a toxic chemical.
• Chinese farm-raised shrimp, catfish, eel, and other fish were banned by the FDA because they contained banned hazardous chemicals.
• Chinese-made tires: catastrophic tread separation causing at least one fatal accident.
• Toothpaste containing an ingredient used to make antifreeze was recalled. Some was counterfeit Colgate.
• Millions of pounds of chopped meat and chili: e-coli contamination and botulism, respectively..
• Cribs     and play yards were recalled after children strangled.
• A popular arts and crafts toy, Aqua Dots, was recalled after its glue was found to be toxic.

And, of course, there are more. 

Clearly, the system for ensuring the safety of products prior to their appearance on store shelves is broken.  Perhaps this year has been a wake-up call for industry, which has let its guard down, and for our government agencies, which are ill-equipped to prevent unsafe products from entering the marketplace.  We are encouraged that all the media and political attention given to these issues is likely to result in stronger laws and more enforcement authority for our government watchdog agencies.   

We hope the worst is behind us now that new laws and better industry vigilance are on the horizon.  We are looking forward to safer 2008. We will continue to provide you with the information you need to protect yourself in the marketplace while giving our opinion and analysis of the product safety that affect all consumers.

We wish you a happy and safe New Year!

The Consumer Reports Safety Blog Team

Don Mays
Caroline Mayer
Marc Perton
Mary Farrell
Jonea Gurwitt
Carolyn Cairns