I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4759 

To establish a comprehensive process to inform American consumers about 

food and product recalls, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2012 

Mr. LEWIS of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To establish a comprehensive process to inform American 

consumers about food and product recalls, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Consumer Food and 

5 Product Safety Information Act of 2012’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE. 

7 The purpose of this Act is to establish a simple, cen8 tralized, and comprehensive public information process to 

9 notify American consumers about product recalls. 


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1 SEC. 3. IMPROVED PUBLIC NOTICE OF PRODUCT RECALLS 

2 AND PRODUCT SAFETY INFORMATION. 

3 (a) PUBLIC INFORMATION INITIATIVE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each enforce5 ment agency shall design and implement a public in6 formation plan to use agency and media resources to 

7 provide information to the public concerning— 

8 (A) the role of the agency in ensuring 

9 product safety; 

10 (B) steps consumers can take to enhance 

11 their safety while using products under the ju12 risdiction of the agency; 

13 (C) information about product recalls con14 cerning products under the jurisdiction of the 

15 agency; and 

16 (D) additional information that the agency 

17 head determines will enhance consumer safety. 

18 (2) COMPONENTS OF INITIATIVE.—The plan 

19 under paragraph (1) shall include procedures for de20 veloping and distributing the following materials: 

21 (A) Public service announcements under 

22 subsection (d). 

23 (B) Quarterly reports under subsection (e). 

24 (C) Posters and other materials under sub25 section (f). 


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1 (D) Other appropriate mechanisms for 

2 communicating product safety information to 

3 the public. 

4 (b) CLEARINGHOUSE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall estab6 lish a clearinghouse to collect and distribute product 

7 recall and product safety information. 

8 (2) CONTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION.—Before 

9 the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date 

10 the materials listed under subsection (a)(2) are 

11 made available to the public by an enforcement 

12 agency, the head of each enforcement agency shall 

13 provide electronic copies of the materials to the 

14 Commission for inclusion in the clearinghouse. 

15 (3) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.— 

16 (A) PHYSICAL LOCATION.—Before the end 

17 of the 30-day period beginning on the date the 

18 Commission receives the materials under para19 graph (2), the Commission shall make the ma20 terials available in a central location that is 

21 open to the public. 

22 (B) WEB SITE.—Before the end of the 14- 

23 day period beginning on the date the Commis24 sion receives the materials under paragraph (2), 

25 the Commission shall make the materials availVerDate Mar 15 2010 04:08 Apr 28, 2012 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4759.IH H4759

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1 able on the Web site established under sub2 section (c). 

3 (4) DISTRIBUTION OF MATERIALS.— 

4 (A) DISTRIBUTION TO GOVERNMENT ENTI5 TIES.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Commission 

7 shall distribute the materials in the clear8 inghouse to an entity listed in clause (ii) 

9 for further distribution in accordance with 

10 that clause, if the Commission determines 

11 that the materials are related to the per12 sons served by that entity. 

13 (ii) ENTITIES; FURTHER DISTRIBU14 TION.—The entities referred to in subpara15 graph (A) are the following: 

16 (I) The Federal Citizen Informa17 tion Center of the General Services 

18 Administration. 

19 (II) The Federal Trade Commis20 sion, which may provide the materials 

21 to the public as appropriate. 

22 (III) The Department of Edu23 cation, which, as determined appro24 priate by the Secretary of Education, 

25 may provide the materials— 


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1 (aa) to public schools; and 

2 (bb) to the public through 

3 the Department of Education 

4 Web site. 

5 (IV) The Government Printing 

6 Office, which, as determined appro7 priate by the Director of the Govern8 ment Printing Office, may distribute 

9 the materials to Federal depository li10 braries. 

11 (V) State and local government 

12 officials, including the head of a State 

13 department of health or its equivalent. 

14 (B) DISTRIBUTION TO THE PUBLIC.—The 

15 Commission shall make available to the public, 

16 upon request and without charge, copies of— 

17 (i) the quarterly reports under section 

18 (a)(2)(B); and 

19 (ii) any other materials collected for 

20 the clearinghouse that the Commission de21 termines is appropriate for direct distribu22 tion to members of the public. 

23 (5) TOLL-FREE NUMBER.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall 

25 establish a toll-free telephone number to— 


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1 (i) provide information about— 

2 (I) product recalls and product 

3 safety; and 

4 (II) materials available under 

5 paragraph (4)(B); and 

6 (ii) to allow individuals to request 

7 such materials. 

8 (B) ACCESSIBILITY.—The toll-free tele9 phone number shall make information avail10 able— 

11 (i) to the hearing impaired and the 

12 visually impaired; and 

13 (ii) in English, Spanish, French, Jap14 anese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, and 

15 Tagalog. 

16 (C) FORM OF DISTRIBUTION.—The Com17 mission shall distribute materials in an elec18 tronic form unless the Commission determines 

19 that a hard copy is more appropriate. 

20 (c) COMPREHENSIVE PRODUCT RECALL WEB

21 SITE.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall estab23 lish a public Web site to provide information to the 

24 public about product recalls. 

25 (2) CONTENTS.— 


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1 (A) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The Com2 mission shall include on the Web site— 

3 (i) information on product recalls, in4 cluding information on whether each prod5 uct recall was initiated by a Federal agen6 cy or by another entity; 

7 (ii) electronic versions of the quarterly 

8 reports under subsection (e); 

9 (iii) access to other information avail10 able in the clearinghouse established by the 

11 Commission under subsection (b); and 

12 (iv) a search function that allows 

13 users to use a single search to find product 

14 recalls concerning products under the ju15 risdiction of multiple enforcement agencies. 

16 (B) OPTIONAL INFORMATION.—The Com17 mission may include on the Web site— 

18 (i) additional information concerning 

19 product recalls, including press releases 

20 and links to other Web sites providing in21 formation about product recalls; 

22 (ii) information for consumers on 

23 product licensing, certification, and label24 ing, including links to other Web sites con25 taining such information; and 


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1 (iii) additional information on product 

2 safety for consumers, including links to 

3 other Web sites containing such informa4 tion. 

5 (3) DEADLINE.—The Commission shall make 

6 the Web site available to the public not later than 

7 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act. 

8 (4) UPDATES.—The Commission shall update 

9 the information on the Web site before the end of 

10 the 14-day period beginning on the date that new in11 formation listed in paragraph (2)(A) is submitted to 

12 the clearinghouse established under subsection (b). 

13 (5) LINKS.—The head of each enforcement 

14 agency, each relevant department, the Federal Trade 

15 Commission, and the Department of Education shall 

16 prominently display a link to the Web site estab17 lished under paragraph (1) on the public Web site 

18 of such agency or department, respectively. 

19 (d) PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each enforce21 ment agency shall issue national public service an22 nouncements via newspaper, radio, television, and 

23 the Internet that contain— 

24 (A) information on— 


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1 (i) the role of the agency in product 

2 safety; 

3 (ii) the types of products regulated by 

4 the agency; 

5 (iii) the availability and location of 

6 print, Internet, and other resources on re7 cent product recalls, including information 

8 on the Web site established under sub9 section (c); and 

10 (iv) the role of the consumer in— 

11 (I) evaluating the safety of a 

12 product prior to purchasing such 

13 product; 

14 (II) using a product in a safe 

15 manner; and 

16 (III) participating in a product 

17 recall; 

18 (B) contact information for consumers 

19 seeking information about product safety; and 

20 (C) other information that the head of the 

21 agency considers relevant to informing con22 sumers about product recalls and product safe23 ty. 

24 (2) REQUIRED INFORMATION FOR A PUBLIC

25 SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT DESCRIBING A RECALL.— 


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1 If a public service announcement made under para2 graph (1) includes information about a specific prod3 uct recall, that announcement must state whether 

4 the product recall was initiated by a Federal agency 

5 or by a private entity. 

6 (3) FREQUENCY.—The head of each enforce7 ment agency shall issue the announcements required 

8 under paragraph (1) at least one time during— 

9 (A) the 30-day period beginning on the 

10 date of issuance by the agency of each quarterly 

11 report under subsection (e); 

12 (B) the 7-day period ending on each Fed13 eral holiday; and 

14 (C) the 7-day period beginning on each 

15 Federal holiday. 

16 (e) QUARTERLY REPORT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

18 the end of each fiscal year quarter, the head of each 

19 enforcement agency shall issue in accordance with 

20 this subsection a report that lists all products that— 

21 (A) were subject to a product recall in the 

22 previous quarter; and 

23 (B) are within the administrative jurisdic24 tion of the agency. 

25 (2) CONTENTS.— 


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1 (A) GENERAL INFORMATION.—The report 

2 shall contain the address of the Web site estab3 lished under subsection (c). 

4 (B) SPECIFIC PRODUCT INFORMATION.— 

5 The report shall contain the following informa6 tion for each product listed in such report: 

7 (i) The product name. 

8 (ii) A photograph of the product. 

9 (iii) A clear and concise description of 

10 the product. 

11 (iv) The reason for the product recall. 

12 (v) Whether the product recall was 

13 initiated by a Federal agency or by a pri14 vate entity. 

15 (vi) A description of the steps a con16 sumer should take to respond to the prod17 uct recall, including— 

18 (I) returning the product to the 

19 manufacturer; 

20 (II) replacing a part; or 

21 (III) other appropriate action. 

22 (vii) The contact information for the 

23 manufacturer, including the manufactur24 er’s— 

25 (I) name; 


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1 (II) postal address; 

2 (III) telephone number, including 

3 any telephone number dedicated to 

4 the product recall; and 

5 (IV) Web site, including any Web 

6 site dedicated to the product recall. 

7 (viii) The contact information for the 

8 distributor, including the distributor’s— 

9 (I) name; 

10 (II) postal address; 

11 (III) telephone number, including 

12 any telephone number dedicated to 

13 the product recall; and 

14 (IV) Web site, including any Web 

15 site dedicated to the product recall. 

16 (ix) The date that the product first 

17 became available to consumers in the 

18 United States. 

19 (x) The date that the product recall 

20 was issued. 

21 (xi) The location of additional infor22 mation about the product recall, includ23 ing— 

24 (I) the telephone number of each 

25 hotline dedicated to the product recall 


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1 that was established by the enforce2 ment agency, the manufacturer, or a 

3 third party; and 

4 (II) the address of each Web site 

5 providing information concerning the 

6 product recall that was established by 

7 the agency, the manufacturer, or a 

8 third party. 

9 (3) DISTRIBUTION.— 

10 (A) ONLINE AVAILABILITY.—The head of 

11 each enforcement agency shall make each quar12 terly report it issues under this subsection 

13 available on the Web site of such agency. If a 

14 department has jurisdiction over such agency, 

15 the head of the department shall include a link 

16 to such report on the public Web site of that 

17 department. 

18 (B) CONGRESS.—The head of the enforce19 ment agency shall submit each quarterly report 

20 to Congress. 

21 (4) NOTICE.— 

22 (A) PRESS RELEASE.—Not later than the 

23 end of the 30-day period beginning on the date 

24 of issuance of the quarterly report under para25 graph (1), the head of each enforcement agency 


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1 shall issue a press release. Such press release 

2 shall announce the availability of such report, 

3 including information on how members of the 

4 public can access the report. 

5 (B) FEDERAL REGISTER.—Not later than 

6 the end of the 30-day period beginning on the 

7 date of issuance of the quarterly report under 

8 paragraph (1), the head of the enforcement 

9 agency shall publish in the Federal Register a 

10 notice of the availability of the quarterly report. 

11 (f) POSTERS AND OTHER MATERIALS IN PUBLIC

12 PLACES.— 

13 (1) POSTERS DESCRIBING SIGNIFICANT PROD14 UCT RECALLS.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a significant product 

16 recall of a product under the jurisdiction of an 

17 enforcement agency occurs, the head of such 

18 agency shall print and distribute a poster con19 taining information describing such recall. 

20 (B) CONTENTS.—The poster shall in21 clude— 

22 (i) information on whether the prod23 uct recall was initiated by a Federal agen24 cy or by a private entity; and 


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1 (ii) information on how to find addi2 tional information about product recalls. 

3 (C) DISTRIBUTION.—The posters under 

4 subparagraph (A) shall be distributed to busi5 nesses and other members of the public upon 

6 request, at no charge. 

7 (D) DEADLINE.—The head of the enforce8 ment agency shall print and distribute the post9 er under subparagraph (A) before the end of 

10 the 30-day period beginning on the date the 

11 product recall was issued. 

12 (2) POSTERS DESCRIBING AGENCY ROLE IN

13 PRODUCT SAFETY.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The head of each en15 forcement agency shall— 

16 (i) before the end of the 30-day period 

17 beginning on the date of enactment of this 

18 Act, issue posters and other printed mate19 rials that provide information on the role 

20 of the agency in product recalls and prod21 uct safety; and 

22 (ii) revise such materials as appro23 priate. 

24 (B) DISTRIBUTION.—The posters and 

25 other materials issued under subparagraph (A) 


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1 shall be distributed to businesses and other 

2 members of the public upon request, at no 

3 charge. 

4 (g) NOTICE OF PRIVATE PRODUCT RECALLS.—Any 

5 manufacturer or distributor of a product who voluntarily 

6 initiates a product recall for the product as a result of 

7 safety concerns shall provide notice of such recall to the 

8 enforcement agency with the authority to regulate the 

9 safety of the product, before the end of the 10-day period 

10 beginning on the date that the manufacturer issues the 

11 product recall. 

12 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than the end 

13 of the 30-day period beginning on the date of enactment 

14 of this Act, the head of each enforcement agency shall sub15 mit a report to Congress containing information on— 

16 (1) the method by which information on prod17 uct recalls is collected and is retained by the agency; 

18 (2) a list of all product recalls concerning prod19 ucts under the jurisdiction of the agency during the 

20 1-year period preceding the enactment of this sec21 tion; 

22 (3) the current practices of the agency for dis23 tributing information about product recalls to the 

24 public, including practices for providing information 

25 about the product recall— 


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1 (A) on the Internet; 

2 (B) to the press; and 

3 (C) to public libraries; 

4 (4) the progress that the agency has made in 

5 developing the public information plan required 

6 under subsection (a); and 

7 (5) a budget analysis detailing how the agency 

8 will use the amounts appropriated to it for purposes 

9 of this section. 

10 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

11 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, 

12 in addition to any other amounts otherwise authorized to 

13 be appropriated to provide the public with information 

14 about product recalls and product safety— 

15 (1) to the Commission, $5,000,000 for fiscal 

16 year 2013 and $2,000,000 for each fiscal year there17 after; and 

18 (2) to the head of each enforcement agency, 

19 other than the Commission, $1,000,000 for fiscal 

20 year 2013 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

21 (j) APPLICATION OF DEADLINES.—Each deadline es22 tablished in this section for action by an enforcement 

23 agency or a manufacturer or distributor of a product ap24 plies only to the extent that the enforcement agency, man25 ufacturer, or distributor can comply with the deadline and 


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1 reasonably fulfil its obligations under other Federal stat2 utes. 

3 (k) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section, the 

4 following definitions apply: 

5 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

6 means the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

7 (2) CONSUMER.—The term ‘‘consumer’’ means, 

8 with respect to a product, an individual who uses the 

9 product primarily for personal purposes. 

10 (3) ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term ‘‘en11 forcement agency’’ means any Federal agency, in12 cluding any independent agency and any inde13 pendent regulatory agency, having authority granted 

14 by Federal statute to regulate product safety. 

15 (4) PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘product’’ means any 

16 article, or component part thereof, including food, 

17 produced or distributed— 

18 (A) for sale to a consumer for use in or 

19 around a permanent or temporary household or 

20 residence, a school, in recreation, or otherwise; 

21 or 

22 (B) for the personal use, consumption, or 

23 enjoyment of a consumer in or around a perma24 nent or temporary household or residence, a 

25 school, in recreation, or otherwise. 


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1 (5) PRODUCT RECALL.—The term ‘‘product re2 call’’— 

3 (A) means a recall of a product issued to 

4 protect the safety of consumers; and 

5 (B) includes— 

6 (i) a corrective action related to a con7 sumer product subject to an order under 

8 section 12 or 15 of the Consumer Product 

9 Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2061, 2064); 

10 (ii) the designation of a product as a 

11 banned hazardous substance under the 

12 Federal Hazardous Substances Act (15 

13 U.S.C. 1261 et seq.); 

14 (iii) a voluntary corrective action re15 lated to a consumer product taken by the 

16 manufacturer, in consultation with the 

17 Commission, of which action the Commis18 sion has notified the public and that would 

19 have been subject to a mandatory correc20 tive action under the Consumer Product 

21 Safety Act (15 U.S.C. 2051 et seq.) or an22 other Act enforced by the Commission if 

23 voluntary action had not been taken by the 

24 manufacturer; and 


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1 (iv) a corrective action related to any 

2 motor vehicle or replacement equipment 

3 that contains a defect related to motor ve4 hicle safety or that does not comply with 

5 applicable motor vehicle safety standards 

6 and is subject to a notification order under 

7 section 30118(b) of title 49, United States 

8 Code, or a remedy under section 30120 of 

9 such title. 

10 (6) RELEVANT DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘‘rel11 evant department’’ means any executive department 

12 that includes an enforcement agency. 

Æ 


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