How Can I Keep Up With All The Recalls?

Lead Poisoning!  Food Poisoning!  How am I supposed to keep up with all of the recalls?  Have you asked yourself that question recently?  It seems like every day we hear about another product that has been recalled for one reason or another.  Parents do have to work hard to stay on top of all the recalls so they can keep their family and pets safe.

Back in June 2009, several of the popular Thomas railroad cars were recalled. In another instance, six different toys which totaled 1.5 million units were recalled because they contained high levels of lead paint.  Then on August 14th, Mattel’s Jeep, Sarge from the “Cars” movie was also listed as dangerous.  And while parents balance frustration toward toy companies with relief at discovering the toxic toys before their kids get sick, they also deal with another problem: how to not feel like the “Grinch Who Stole Playtime” when they have to take those toys away.

There have been several recalls of food products because of the danger of food poisoning too. We’ve had recalls for peanut butter, lettuce, spinach, oysters, salmon and several others.  Why, we’ve even had a recall on “Chocolate Cookies”!  And it’s not limited to our human family members.  We’ve had to deal with recalls that have affected our pet family members as well.

There are a couple of websites we can use to help us keep up with all those recalls.  For food or drug related recalls, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s website, http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html is very helpful.  For other recalls, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website, http://www.cpsc.gov/  is also really good.

Just remember, the Texas Poison Center Network is always there to answer any question you might have about any poisoning.  The national hotline number, 1-800-222-1222, is available 24 hours a day. Callers are automatically connected to specially trained nurses, pharmacists and physicians at the closest local poison center. These specialists answer poison-related questions about medications, household products and other potentially dangerous substances and can provide poison education materials such as brochures and stickers.