The Early Show

The Reality Of Recalls

Brian Dakss

January 11, 2007 / 11:02 AM EST / CBS

Susan Koeppen is the consumer correspondent for The Early Show.

Every year, thousands of products are recalled because they are deemed unsafe.

There are many government agencies that monitor products on the market and step in when something turns out to be a hazard.

Here's the problem: Many consumers never get the message that something they own has been recalled.

But there are things you can do to make sure you are kept in the loop about recalled items:

Fill out the registration card when you buy a product. That way, the company can contact you if there is a problem.

Search for recalls. If you're unsure about a product, or if you think there's been a recall, you can go to www.recalls.gov and do a search for a specific item.

And if you feel that a product is unsafe, you can report a problem:

To report an unsafe consumer product, including cases involving injuries and deaths, contact the Consumer Product Safety Commission. You can fill out an online form at www.cpsc.gov or call the CPSC 's toll-free hotline, (800) 638-2772. The agency has jurisdiction over 15,000 types of consumer products, from automatic-drip coffee makers, to toys, to lawn mowers.

Other government agencies that deal with recalls include the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for cars, trucks and motorcycles, and the Food and Drug Administration for foods, drugs and cosmetics.