CPSC Makes Recall Data Available Electronically to Businesses, 3rd Party Developers

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U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Aug 31, 2010, 01:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is making its product safety information on all recalls available in an electronic data set for use by businesses and software and application developers.

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Recall data from 1973 forward is available via an Application Program Interface (API). It is formatted in XML and contains information currently found in CPSC press releases online such as brand names, product types, product descriptions, companies involved in recalls, where the products were manufactured, hazards, recall dates and UPC codes (when those are available).

Electronic access to this data will give online businesses an easier, direct and more automated way to stop the sale of recalled products. Online retailers and auction sites can use the API to automatically flag and both remove and stop the sale of recalled products quickly after a recall has been announced.

In addition, developers are encouraged to create applications and other innovative tools to put this important recall information into the hands of consumers.

The General Services Administration is using this API to feed data to the Recalls.gov mobile application, which is available for free on the Android market.

CPSC encourages all businesses and developers to access this API and related technical instructions at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/api.html. In addition, CPSC encourages anyone who uses the API to let us know how you're using it or provide us with other feedback by sending an e-mail to [email protected] .

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054. To join a CPSC e-mail subscription list, please go to https://www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.aspx. Consumers can obtain recall and general safety information by logging on to CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.