Former FDA commissioner explains record high product recalls

Updated: Jun 9, 2022 / 07:18 PM CDT

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(NewsNation) — A new report from the insurance company Sedgwick found companies recalled more than 900 million product units, from cars and bicycles to smart watches and children’s socks, in just the first three months of the year. That’s a 64% increase in just the first quarter of 2022.

Peter Pitts, a former FDA associate commissioner, gave his assessment of the issue during Thursday’s edition of NewsNation’s “Rush Hour”.

According to Pitts, it is a good sign that manufacturers are the ones making these recalls, as it suggests there are quality systems in place to catch mistakes.

But Pitts questioned why there were so many recalls in the first place.

“Is it a pandemic lack of labor? Are they cutting corners to save money? My concern is that companies are beginning to look at regulations, saying, ‘Well, maybe we can skirt this and skirt that and save a penny and a penny there,’ and that’s not acceptable,” Pitts said. “Making a product in accordance with the regulation is the cost of doing business. They actually have to do the right thing.”

Whatever the problem for American retailers during these challenging economic times, Pitts maintained it’s imperative that companies “invest hard money in doing the right thing from a regulatory and quality perspective. Everything else is just not acceptable.

The FDA is now urging companies to be “recall ready,” find their own mistakes and issue their own recalls where possible without matters escalating to a much more complicated federal issue.