Is Product Recall Deteriorating In America

Is Product Recall Deteriorating In America?

Rhonda Johnston

Is Product Recall System Deteriorating In America?

Despite talk, years ago about consolidating recall authority, there is no single recalls czar with the power to banish all problem products from the marketplace immediately. Instead, there still remains a complex, decentralized system granting recall authority to six federal agencies, U. S. Food and Drug Administration, for food, drugs, medical devices, and cosmetics. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, for vehicles, tires, and child safety seats. U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, for everyday products from clothes to coffee makers. U. S. Department of Agriculture, for meat, poultry, and egg products, and finally, U.S. Coast Guard, for boats and boating equipment. The agency has its own rules and procedures.

August issue uncovers how recalls works and how consumers can get the latest information, by Hackett, & Rojas (2004), emphasizes that a dangerous defective, or unhealthy product could remain on the road and in the home and in recent years, the number of products that have been subject to government recalls has risen significantly. Whether the reason is better policing, more diligent reporting of problems to agencies, or worse products, the rise of recalls does not necessarily mean that more faulty products are being repaired or returned to stores (Hackett, & Rojas, 2004). "A company might not report a problem or might protest a recall order because it contends that its product doesn't [sic] pose a unique hazard, because if fears negative publicity, or because it recoils at the expense" (Hackett, & Rojas, 2004, p. 1).

Companies are not required to search through bank or credit card records. Clearly, it is beneficial to alert people but we need to respect privacy rights and the law. Some drug recalls are also wide publicized. Pharmacies are required to review records and contact patients only for Class 1 recall, the most serious of the three class in the FDA system in which taking drug could cause death or serious illness. Alerting patients to potency problem might needlessly worry patients and prevent them from taking their medicine is a greater concern, the agency contends, than getting an incorrect dosage (Hackett, & Rojas, 2004, p. 1). Despite the FDA claims of having the safest drug system in the world, recent withdrawals on drugs and medication warnings has brought a negative light on the agency's ability to protect America. Several deaths involving heart attacks, such as Susan Harlvorsen's husband, Jim Cjebic, who died of a heart attack at age 34 in 2001 after taking Vioxx before learning Vioxx may double the risk of heart attacks (Ferris, 2005). Congressional committees and some lawmakers are current debating on how to reform the FDA's regulatory process. These issues may force Congress to revisit the drug-approval process in 2007, the year PDUFA comes up for reauthorization if they do not act promptly within the next two years. Many critics stress that the agency suffers from deep-rooted flaws; internal conflict issues and lacks the necessary ability to implement authority (Ferris, 2005).

Most consumers assume that if the FDA has approved a medication it is safe and has

undergone several years of clinical trials. In fact, drug companies only conduct short-term

trials-usually about a year-before drugs are released to the general public. Thus, long-term

negative effects-such as cancer or heart damage-are only discovered after a drug has been

in public circulation over several months years. (Ferris, 2005, p. 10).

The U.S. Customer Product Safety Commission debates on the issue of whether to develop nationwide safety standards that would establish ways to provide additional protection for children under the age of sixteen from dangerous adult size all-terrain vehicles. Currently children under the age of