Flawed consumer products database launched

On Friday, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) officially launched its database for consumer complaints but has already been met with industry concerns. The New York Times interviewed Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kansas), who argues that the database, called SaferProducts.gov, should be stripped of funding and delayed until certain defects can be ironed out. Manufacturers want it to provide a more valid means for manufacturers and CPSC to assess consumer claims for accuracy before they are posted to the site. The database is the result of 2008 legislation granting the commission more authority and money to monitor and regulate consumer products after children’s toys imported from China were found to be tainted with lead and cadmium. On the new site, consumers will be able to file complaints for all types of products with the exception of food, drugs, cosmetics, cars and guns.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal suggests that President Barack Obama should seize upon the opportunity to overhaul the CPSC database legislation and make good on his promise to give his anti-business reputation a makeover.

“The increasing stringency of requirements to test for lead (and phthalates) places an onerous financial burden on small businesses for no good reason since the real danger of lead poisoning from consumer products is essentially zero,” says ACSH's Dr. Gilbert Ross. “Unlike the big toy companies, small businesses cannot afford to pay for third-party testing.”