None of us want to spend our money on dangerous or defective items and with the holidays racing towards us, we need to pay even more attention. The most important group to protect, of course, is kids. Toys that easily break are bad enough, but toys that are dangerous can be a disaster. So if you’re wondering how to check on recalls, here are some resources for you.
1. Recalls.gov is the main site for recalls from the feds. It reflects the work of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission [http://www.cpsc.gov/]which watches products in the following categories, which includes an amazing 15,000 different products.
* appliances
* clothing
* electronic/electrical
* furniture
* household
* children’s products
* lighting/lighter
* outdoor
* sports/exercise:
For example, these “Koala children’s sandals with butterfly wings” were recalled because the attached butterflies could be easily ripped off and swallowed. All moms know that little kids who a-d-o-r-e putting everything in their mouths! ToysRUs was the seller of these shoes and offered refunds to all buyers.
2. The FDA website, http://www.fda.gov, concerns itself with food safety. The FDA has approved some highly questionable products, so I’m not a huge fan. Still, if you are concerned about salmonella or dangerous peanut butter, this is the place to go.
3. This site, FSIS.USDA.gov, concerns itself with meat, poultry and egg safety.
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