A new analysis out todayfrom the U.S. PIRG Education Fund finds recalls are often taking months or even years in some cases to be issued.
This comes as there was a 33% increase in recalled products in 2022.
And even after items are recalled, it can take time for consumers to find out.
A recent example of this is the re-announcement of the recall involving Rock ‘n Play sleepers earlier this month.
“This product was recalled in 2019 and here it is 2023 and they put out an announcement of more babies that have died after the recall. So this is the case where you know parents didn't know,” said Teresa Murray, a consumer watchdog with the U.S. PIRG Education Fund.
She says one problem leading to recalls taking longer to be issued is that the Consumer Product Safety Commission is not allowed under the law to talk about a product by name without the company's permission.
The Sunshine in Product Safety Act introduced in 2021 would have eliminated this restriction. There's talk of reintroducing the bill in this new congress.
Murray’s organization is also pushing to have companies with recalled products be required to do a better job alerting customers. When the company doesn't have your contact information, it could issue alerts through social media or targeted advertising.
But here's what you can do now.
“What we would advise is for people if they're considering a major purchase like an appliance, or something for their child to, you know, take two minutes and look on saferproducts.gov and see if there have been complaints issued or recall,” Murray said.