Hearing about a product recall on television weeks after the product has been declared unsafe is a health risk not only to you, but also to your family. Unfortunately, most of us find out about recalls well after the fact. In response to the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008,
in which Congress mandated the creation of an accessible database of product complaints, the Consumer Product Safety Commission is creating an online searchable database of consumer product safety information called the Consumer Product Safety Risk Management System. Soon, you’ll be able to access a user-friendly database to learn about potentially dangerous products before they’re officially recalled. The database, which will be housed on a website called SaferProducts.gov, is scheduled to be fully up and running next month.