Category: Consumer Products Industry

FDA started issuing draft industry guidance related to Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food (PCHF) in January 2018, but the 16 chapters are still a work in progress. Most recently, the FDA alerted the industry in the federal register that Chapter 14: Recall Plan is now available. The PCHF guidance specifies that companies and organizations “must establish a written recall plan for food that requires a preventive control (21 CFR 117.139(a)).

Perhaps the most recognizable supply chain challenge linked to a product recall is the Takata airbag recall, which has so far impacted 19 automakers and 37 million vehicles over the course of several years. Because of the growing global length and complexity of supply chains, most product recalls today bring added layers of liability and reputational risk for several companies. We discussed

E-Cig Makers On the Top of FDA’s Most Wanted List Just in time for the new school year, US public health officials from FDA and CDC have issued a joint warning: avoid e-cigarettes and other vaping devices.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has been in the hot seat lately, criticized for its handling of recent children’s and infant product recalls. The latest chapter in the “failure to act” saga features in-home elevators that are putting children at risk. While it appears the agency is trying to regain control of the story by issuing a safety warning in recent days, it may be too little too late.

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.