August 10, 2009

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By Product Safety Letter staff

An ISO project committee is developing an international standard for establishing a global framework for consumer product recall programs. This is an effort to harmonize product recall programs in countries where approaches to policies and regulations for re­calls are inconsistent. In an age when goods change hands globally, the new standard is aimed at expediting the international product recall and corrective action process.

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In the first meeting of the ISO committee held in May in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, the panel decided on 2012 as the publication target for the new standard (ISO 10393). ISO/PC 240, Product Recall (as the committee and its work is known) is collab­orating with ISO committees for consumer product safety (ISO/PC 243), anti-counterfeiting (ISO/PC 246) and combating fraud (ISO/TC 247). 

According to the committee, the new standard is expected to provide a guide for organizations "to plan and execute timely and cost effective product recalls following design flaws, manufacturing defects, or inadequate warning labels or instruc­tions – whether the products are still in the manufacturer's or distributor's inventory or retail shelves or in the hands of consumers." 

The new standard is also expected to provide guidelines to organizations regarding the conducting of corrective actions, including repair, replacement, re-purchase and public notice. An efficient process of corrective action will help organizations minimize their legal risks and sustain consumer loyalty, ISO asserted.

ISO/PC 240 is expected to apply to consumer products, including electrical and gas household appliances, and will be useful for manufacturers, retailers, importers, testing organizations, providers of third party recall services, legal firms, government regulators and consumers/safety organizations, suggested the standards group, suggested ISO

Twelve nations have participated in ISO/PC 240, and four others, including the U.S. via ANSI, have observer stat­us. Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Korea and South Africa are among the member countries that participated in the Kuala Lumpur meeting. At that event, the ISO Committee ex­tended a call for participation from more interested parties.

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