Product Regulation, Safety and Recall Country Questions: United States

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is an independent federal regulatory agency charged with protecting consumers against unreasonable risk of serious injury or death from over fifteen thousand types of consumer products. In this article, Kelley Drye partner Christie Thompson addresses questions regarding the complexities of the CPSC and the federal statutes that it enforces. Christie answers the following:

(1) Is there any industry-specific regulation as regards product safety? (2) How is general product safety regulated in the national jurisdiction? (3) How is product safety legislation enforced in the national jurisdiction? What powers do the enforcement authorities have? (4) What sanctions are imposed under national law for breach of product safety legislation? (5) Does national law imply any terms into a contract in relation to product safety? Can they be excluded? (6) Do product safety regulations apply equally to imported products? (7) Does national law regulate the safety of packaging? (8) What provision does national law make for product recall? Is it mandatory or voluntary?

This is an update to the piece originally published May 2012.