ILLUSTRATION BY JOHN RITTER
Alerting
Consumers
About Recalls
what’s at stake
Here’s a statistic that should
concern us all: The average rate
at which consumers take action
when a product they own is
recalled for safety reasons is
thought to be a mere 6 percent.
One reason, experts believe,
is that most consumers who
own a recalled product simply
never hear about the recall.
And the reason for that?
The system currently in place
for alerting consumers about
recalled products that they
own is out of date and needs to
be upgraded for the digital age.
how cr has your back
CR helped lead a coalition of
groups pushing for 2008’s
landmark Consumer Product
Safety Improvement Act
(CPSIA), which established
an online product safety
database and required
manufacturers of certain
products to give consumers
registration cards and the
ability to register online to be
notiied in case of a recall.
But those requirements
aren’t enough, which is
why CR (with other groups)
recently delivered
recommendations to the
Consumer Product Safety
Commission. Among them:
Instead of relying on the
product registration forms
of old, consumers should
have the option, at the point
of sale, to register their
purchase and to receive text
messages if the product is
recalled. And companies that
issue recalls on their products
should have to provide
incentives—such as extra
features on a replacement
or cash back—to encourage
consumer participation.
what you can do
You can ind select recalls in
every issue of CR magazine;
this month, see page 19.
You can also ind a full list
of our recommendations at
CR.org/recalls; report and
search for unsafe products at the
CPSC website, saferproducts.gov;
and ind the latest recalls at
cpsc.gov/recalls.Making Baby
Food Safer
what’s at stake
Because their bodies and
organs are still developing,
young children are especially
vulnerable to serious health
risks when exposed to toxins.
That’s why it was so
troubling when recent CR
tests found that two-thirds of
50 baby and toddler foods we
tested contained measurable
levels of at least one toxic
material known as a heavy
metal, including cadmium,
lead, and inorganic arsenic.
how cr has your back
With the release of our report
(in the October 2018 issue),
we called on the U.S. Foodand Drug Administration to
do more to protect the public.
Speciically, we urged the FDA
to set a goal of eliminating
cadmium, lead, and inorganic
arsenic in baby and kids’ food
beyond the lowest amount
measurable by current tech-
nologies. And we suggested the
FDA set incremental targets for
companies as they work toward
reaching that goal.
In addition, we believe the
FDA should, by the end of 2018,
inalize its guidelines limiting
inorganic arsenic in apple juice
to 10 parts per billion (ppb) and
limiting inorganic arsenic in
infant rice cereal to 100 ppb.
Last, it should revise existing
guidelines for lead in fruit juice,
from a limit of 50 ppb to 5 ppb,
the standard for bottled water.
what you can do
Parents can limit their children’s
exposure by serving a variety
of fruits, vegetables, and
grains, and limiting intake
of infant rice cereal, sweet
potatoes, and packaged snacks.And you can sign CR’s petition
asking the FDA to impose
new limits on heavy metals at
CR.org/babyfood.Helping
Families Fly
Tog ether
what’s at stake
As the holiday travel season
approaches, kids and their
caregivers could ind themselves
separated on lengthy lights. To
avoid this scenario, Congress
passed a bipartisan law in
July 2016 directing the U.S.
Department of Transportation
to “review and, if appropriate,
establish a policy” ensuring
that families traveling with kids
13 and under would be seated
together at no additional cost.
Now, more than two years
later, the DOT has determined
that such a policy is not
appropriate—but it has done
so without soliciting public
comments, calling for public
hearings, or making any public
statement on the matter.
Meanwhile, some U.S. airlines
continue to charge fees or
higher fares for passengers
needing to sit together.
Beyond the inancial penalty
(see our story on other airline
fees, on page 30), current
policies pose other risks;
a recent FBI report noted
that sexual assaults aboard
commercial lights are rising,
and that the victims have
included unaccompanied
minors as young as 8 years old.
how cr has your back
Under the Freedom of
Information Act, CR has
written to DOT Secretary
Elaine Chao requesting all
relevant information
pertaining to the DOT’s
implementation of this policy.
what you can do
Contact your representatives
at congress.gov and tell them
to press the DOT to implement
and enforce the law. And learn
more about our What the Fee?!
campaign at WhatTheFee.com.Building a Better World, Together Join with us to make a safer, fairer, healthier marketplace
Red Alert for
Recalls
Few consumers
take action
on product
safety recalls;
CR believes we
need better
notifications.DECEMBER 2018 CR.ORG 7