Website offers parents a centralized list of recalled items

Reporting from Chicago —  Trying to track recalled products and foods that might be harmful to children is a nightmare for parents because there’s no single place to look.

Until now. The new site https://www.ClickCheckandProtect.org, a Consumer Reports companion site, is the product of a newly formed National School Safety Coalition convened by Consumer Reports, the National Parent Teacher Assn. and the National School Boards Assn.

“The whole idea is to get the information into the homes of school-aged children,” said Don Mays, senior director of safety for Consumer Reports.

The hope is not only to encourage parents to check the site but also to have its new information distributed by weekly school newsletters sent to children’s homes — anything to make it easier for parents to learn about recalls, Mays said.

The coalition will distribute safety alerts and recall notices on such children’s products as toys, food, medicines and furniture.

Recalls by manufacturers are difficult to track, not only because there are so many but also because different regulators handle different recalls. For example, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announces recalls for products, the Food and Drug Administration announces recalls for food and medications and the U.S. Department of Agriculture announces recalls for meat.

A poll by Consumer Reports showed that Americans believe it is important to know about product recalls, but they are not confident that they are getting adequate information. More than half of Americans said they never or rarely filled out the registration cards that come with products. Those registrations are used to notify consumers directly about recalls.

“A child shouldn’t be put at risk of injury or death simply because the information on recalled products didn’t get to schools, caregivers and parents,” said Jim Guest, president of Consumer Reports.

In March, the Consumer Product Safety will launch SaferProducts.gov, a database that will allow consumers to report dangerous products and see what others have reported.

Karp writes for the Chicago Tribune.