How To Find Out About Product Safety News & Recalls

Hey Healthy Crushers,

Today my group text with my girlfriends from high school was blowing up about the $417 million talc lawsuit with Johnson & Johnson. (I find out a lot of newsworthy information from this particular text thread – thank you ladies, for always keeping me in the know).

Around the same time as I was learning about the link between talcum powder and ovarian cancer, I got an email from Morgan at ConsumerSafety.org.

She said:

“Hi Jenny,

Hope your day is going well. I’ve loved reading the health and wellness section of your blog, and I wanted to call your attention to an important topic. When it comes to product safety, most people rely on companies and the government to do the “right” thing. However, time and time again, scientific findings and court proceedings that bring these hazards to light are exposed by the people, not the FDA or EPA.

Further, our safety regulations continue to trail behind those of other world powers.

We’ve put together a fact sheet of some commonly used unsafe products that are still on the market and NOT banned by the FDA or EPA. One of the products included on the list is talc-based baby powder and its link to ovarian cancer, which made headlines last night because of a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson.

If you’re interested in seeing the fact sheet, let me know!”

Now, I usually get multiple emails per day asking me if I want to see “the latest infographic” or “fact sheet” about {whatever} and I usually decline, but this one perked my ears up, because it was exactly what I was reading about at the time, and highly relevant. One of my best friends and I have been talking at length this week about cleaner beauty products, so it’s as if Morgan was reading my mind…I chalk it up to that eclipse energy. ;)

Yes, I’d like to see it!

So she sent me over the fact sheet, which covers:

Talc in baby powder
Arsenic in wine
Teflon on non-stick pans

Check it out here (click to see larger view):

I wrote back to Morgan and asked her a few more questions before getting to work on this blog. I especially wanted to know if they cover makeup/beauty products, as it’s something I’ve been looking into lately.

She said ConsumerSafety.org publishes relevant information about beauty products in the “products” section as it occurs. In fact, they cover recalls, product safety information, and health alerts about products on an as-it-happens basis.

I even searched for a food product I knew recently got recalled, and yep, all the information was there. Very cool.

What they provide at ConsumerSafety.org:

Collecting recall notices into a single, easily searchable website.
Providing in-depth information about selected, especially dangerous items that have the potential to inflict great harm.
Offering safety guides that include tips and checklists on a variety of topics.
Sharing news about safety-related events, legislation, and related subjects.

I started poking around on the site and I’m impressed. You can search by a food or product to see if it’s been recalled, and at the top of the site they list the current lawsuits that are going on in each category: drugs, medical devices, food, products, etc.

I’ve just learned so much on this website in the past hour. I can’t find a place to sign up for their e-mail list anywhere (hello!?), but I’m hoping they will add a feature soon where I can get notified every time there’s a new product safety alert.

And what about this talc issue?

Well, for starters, here’s a talc-free alternative.