Consumer advocates are making serious headway in their efforts to repeal a section of the Consumer Product Safety Act designed to protect the proprietary information of manufacturers. Section 6(b) of the 2011 consumer protection law attempts to answer a difficult question: Who gets the first right to announce a product issue, the retailer or the manufacturer? As written and enforced by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the answer is the manufacturer.
Continue ReadingPA swift and thorough product recall is the best way to mitigate any legal liability risk from a defective product, removing inventory from the market before problems become pervasive. But in many cases, product defects or dangers aren’t discovered until after harm has occurred and liability cannot be avoided. Product liability laws enable consumers to sue those parties responsible when a product causes property damage, injury or death.
Continue ReadingAdvances in technology tend to be mixed blessings for product recalls. They often introduce new product safety vulnerabilities while, at the same time, may offer new capabilities that improve recall efficacy. The impact of technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, big data, and others on product recalls are slowly unfolding, but emerging patterns give us some sense about how these technologies might affect product safety and recall management in the future.
Continue ReadingIn December of 2018, Congress passed the farm bill, which, among other things, broadened the ways in which hemp can be cultivated and transported. While hemp can be used to create a variety of products, the market for cannabidiol, a hemp extract commonly known as CBD, is attracting the most attention by far. CBD is said to promote relaxation without the psychoactive effects of the THC compound found in marijuana, and manufacturers have been adding the compound to everything from beverages to shampoo since the bill passed.
Continue ReadingThanks in large part to aggressive marketing and appealing flavors, smoking e-cigarettes or vaping has rapidly escalated from a fad to an issue that many experts are considering a public health epidemic—particularly for teens and pre-teens. While e-cigarettes have been available since 2007, new manufacturers, offerings and marketing tactics have brought them into the lives of countless young people. According to the FDA, 21% of high school students have used an e-cigarette in the last year.
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