Consumer Product Recalls

It is industry’s responsibility to ensure that they are selling consumer products and cosmetics that are compliant with the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and its regulations, and the Cosmetic Regulations under the Food and Drugs Act. When non-compliance is identified, action is taken to protect Canadians which may include removing the product from the market through a voluntary recall. The recall process generally includes the cessation of all manufacturing, importing, distributing, advertising and selling of the affected products, as well as communicating to consumers the actions they should take to prevent exposure to the danger posed by the affected product(s). When a recall is initiated, Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety Program publishes the information related to the recall on the Healthy Canadians website to assist in the distribution of the recall messaging to all Canadians (https://healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/index-eng.php?cat=4). Each recall posting has a “Webidentifier”. The service standard for posting is based on the category of the product and the risks posed by the issue identified (which determines the “Level” of the recall). It is calculated from the day the decision is made that a recall is required to the day the recall is posted on the website (the difference of which is the “Measure” column in the dataset). Communicating recalls in a timely manner is an important means in which Health Canada helps protect Canadians from unsafe consumer products.