Nokia’s recall (it prefers to call it product advisory and not a recall) of 46 million defective BL-5C batteries, manufactured by Matsushita Battery Industrial Company, Japan, following about 100 incidents of overheating reported from different parts of the world, brings into sharp focus the issue of consumer product safety. And the fact that in India, we neither have a comprehensive product liability law nor an independent consumer product safety commission to monitor the safety of consumer goods in the market.

In countries where consumer product safety gets the highest priority, product recalls are commonplace. In the United States, for example, where the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) works with the industry to ensure the safety of consumer products, there were about 30 recalls during just one month — July 2007. In the month of August, already the number of recalls have touched the July level.

Not only does CPSC provide toll-free 24-hour hotlines for consumers to report product-related accidents and injuries, it also makes it mandatory for the manufacturer to report any such complaint or information in its knowledge that could jeopardise consumer safety vis-à-vis the products. Failure to do so invites legal action. On the basis of these reports and investigations, CPSC asks the manufacturer to recall the product.

Europe too has introduced, since October 1, 2005, a more comprehensive legislation on consumer product safety through the General Product Safety Regulations, 2005. According to a report, in UK alone, there were 92 recalls or notifications in 2006 (these do not include 78 food-related recalls or withdrawals) — twice the number of recalls in the previous year. The legislation places an obligation on the manufacturer and the distributor to not only provide safe products but also monitor the safety of their products in the market and withdraw those found to be unsafe. They also have to put in place measures to ensure quick traceability of the product, and report to the competent authority any information that comes to their knowledge about the safety of their product.

In an expanding global market, if we in India fail to have a comprehensive product liability law and a consumer product safety commission, consumers would not only be at risk, but also at the mercy of manufacturers. We do not even have a system of reporting product related accidents. So it becomes imperative that the government take immediate steps to protect consumers from unsafe products in the market.