Building a Better World, Together

What's at stake: Here's a statistic that should concern us all: The average rate at which consumers take action when a product they own is recalled for safety reasons is thought to be a mere 6 percent.

One reason, experts believe, is that most consumers who own a recalled product simply never hear about the recall.

And the reason for that? The system currently in place for alerting consumers about recalled products that they own is out of date and needs to be upgraded for the digital age.

How CR has your back: CR helped lead a coalition of groups pushing for 2008's landmark Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), which established an online product safety database and required manufacturers of certain products to give consumers registration cards and the ability to register online to be notified in case of a recall.

But those requirements aren't enough, which is why CR (with other groups) recently delivered recommendations to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Among them: Instead of relying on the product registration forms of old, consumers should have the option, at the point of sale, to register their purchase and to receive text messages if the product is recalled. And companies that issue recalls on their products should have to provide incentives—such as extra features on a replacement or cash back—to encourage consumer participation.

What you can do: You can report and search for unsafe products at the CPSC website, saferproducts.gov; and find the latest recalls at cpsc.gov/recalls. Also, find a list of CR's recommendations for making recalls more effective by clicking on the PDF at CR.org/recalls.

What's at stake: Because their bodies and organs are still developing, young children are especially vulnerable to serious health risks when exposed to toxins.

That's why it was so troubling when recent CR tests found that two-thirds of 50 baby and toddler foods we tested contained measurable levels of at least one toxic material known as a heavy metal, including cadmium, lead, and inorganic arsenic.

How CR has your back: With the release of our report (in the October 2018 issue), we called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to do more to protect the public. Specifically, we urged the FDA to set a goal of eliminating cadmium, lead, and inorganic arsenic in baby and kids' food beyond the lowest amount measurable by current technologies. And we suggested the FDA set incremental targets for companies as they work toward reaching that goal.

In addition, we believe the FDA should, by the end of 2018, finalize its guidelines limiting inorganic arsenic in apple juice to 10 parts per billion (ppb) and limiting inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal to 100 ppb. Last, it should revise existing guidelines for lead in fruit juice, from a limit of 50 ppb to 5 ppb, the standard for bottled water.

What you can do: Parents can limit their children's exposure by serving a variety of fruits, vegetables, and grains, and limiting intake of infant rice cereal, sweet potatoes, and packaged snacks. And you can sign CR's petition asking the FDA to impose new limits on heavy metals at CR.org/babyfood.

What's at stake: As the holiday travel season approaches, kids and their caregivers could find themselves separated on lengthy flights. To avoid this scenario, Congress passed a bipartisan law in July 2016 directing the U.S. Department of Transportation to "review and, if appropriate, establish a policy" ensuring that families traveling with kids 13 and under would be seated together at no additional cost.

Now, more than two years later, the DOT has determined that such a policy is not appropriate—but it has done so without soliciting public comments, calling for public hearings, or making any public statement on the matter. Meanwhile, some U.S. airlines continue to charge fees or higher fares for passengers needing to sit together.

Beyond the financial penalty (read "Your Airline Travel Survival Guide"), current policies pose other risks; a recent FBI report noted that sexual assaults aboard commercial flights are rising, and that the victims have included unaccompanied minors as young as 8 years old.

How CR has your back: Under the Freedom of Information Act, CR has written to DOT Secretary Elaine Chao requesting all relevant information pertaining to the DOT's implementation of this policy.

What you can do: Contact your representatives at congress.gov and tell them to press the DOT to implement and enforce the law. And learn more about our What the Fee?! campaign at WhatTheFee.com.