How To Use The Web To Keep Tabs On Product Recalls

It seems like every time you read the paper or watch the news there's another product recall-and what about the ones you haven't heard about? With so many, how can you keep track of them all? Wouldn't it be nice if someone would create a web site that helped you keep tabs on all those important product recalls? Thankfully someone already has!

Uncle Sam maintains Recalls.gov, a web site that helps make it easier and more convenient for the public to stay up-to-date on the latest product recalls. Here's what they cover:

• Consumer Products - links to recall information from The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) regarding household items, children's products, appliances, furniture, clothing, etc.
• Motor Vehicles - links to motor vehicle recalls and related info from The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
• Boats - links to a recall database of recreational boats and related info from The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
• Food - links to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Recalls and Safety Alerts and related U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) info.
• Medicine - links to FDA Recalls and Safety Alerts.
• Cosmetics - links FDA Recalls and Safety Alerts.
• Environmental Products - links to Pesticide Recalls and related information from The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The site also makes it a point to highlight the most recent recalls and even offers you the option of signing up to receive alerts by e-mail from some of the government recall agencies.