US consumers can now search for food and other product recalls easier and quicker on the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) website in response to calls from the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to develop a more consumer-friendly recall search engine.
The search results now provide data from news releases and other recall announcements in the form of a table in order to provide greater ease of use for consumers, according to a press release from FDA.
That table organises information from news releases on recalls since 2009 by date, product brand name, product description, reason for the recall and the recalling firm, and also provides a link to the news release on each recall for more detailed information.
The news releases were chosen as the source of information for the table because they provide the most up-to-date and user-friendly information about any recall, FDA said.
The new display of the search results is markedly different from the previous display, which provided links in a scroll-down format.
Furthermore, for recalls conducted under FSMA, it requires FDA to indicate whether the recall is ongoing or completed.
Under FSMA, FDA was required to provide a consumer-friendly recall search engine within 90 days after the law went into effect in January.
“Recalls, mandatory or otherwise, are serious and we must do everything possible to make it easier for people to know about these recalls so they can take all appropriate steps to protect themselves and their families,” said Mike Taylor, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods.
“The new search page not only provides consumers with an easy-to-read table of information on products they are searching for, it also represents the delivery of one of the first major actions called for under the Food Safety Modernization Act,” Mr Taylor added.
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