CPSC Launches New Consumer Product Safety Information Database

The SaferProducts.gov database that has been making news during the past few weeks is now live online.
Submit and/or search product safety reports.
From the News Release

Today, the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) goes live with the SaferProducts.gov database mandated by Congress, as part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Beginning today, consumers are encouraged to visit www.SaferProducts.gov to submit Reports of harm or risks of harm, and to search for safety information on products they own or may be considering buying.
Reporting product safety incidents through this new, easy-to-use site will help CPSC identify product hazards quicker and provide consumers with safety information on products in and around the home.
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Following procedures set up by the law, CPSC will review all online Reports and have five business days to transmit qualifying Reports to the manufacturer, where practicable. Manufacturers then have 10 business days during which they may respond and provide comments and/or claims. At the end of the 10 day period, if all requirements are met, the Report and the manufacturer’s comments will be posted on SaferProducts.gov
It is important that consumers provide CPSC with information that is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge. Reports lacking required information will not be published. Similarly, information in a report of harm determined to be materially inaccurate within the 10 days provided to manufacturers to respond will not be published. Reports that potentially contain confidential information will have such information taken out before the report is posted.
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On January 24, CPSC began registering businesses online, and accepting Reports though SaferProducts.gov to test the system. Since then, about 1500 Reports have been filed by consumers online. About 1400 manufacturers have signed up on the Business Portal, so they can receive a copy of a Report about their product in a timely manner via e-mail. Reports accepted during this test period will not be visible to the public but are being processed internally by CPSC as has been done with all Reports in the past.
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Reports received today will be visible and searchable by consumers around the beginning of April. Until then, only CPSC’s recall information will be searchable within the database.

Direct to SaferProducts.gov
See Also: “CPSC safety complaint database goes live” (via Safety Blog, ConsumerReports.org)

When consumers seek information about the safety of the vehicle, tires, or child safety seats that they currently use or are about to buy, they can search the www.safercar.gov database hosted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). That site also allows consumers to file a safety complaint on their vehicle, tires or safety seat if they experience a hazardous situation, which helps to warn other consumers and NHTSA about the perils they may face. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a similar public database for consumer complaints about medical devices.  But until now, no such system existed for other consumer products. The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) changed all that.

Read the Complete Blog Post
See Also: “CPSC public complaint database goes live amid industry worries it will be misleading, wrong” (by Jennifer C. Kerr, AP)

Despite a last-minute attempt to derail it, the government launched a public database Friday that allows people to report and search safety complaints on thousands of products — from cribs and toys to power tools and hair dryers.
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While the website went live on Friday, the first complaints to go public likely won’t come for about 15 days.

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