Report an incident involving a consumer product or cosmetic: overview

Reporting injuries, near misses and safety concerns about consumer products and cosmetics is easy and could save lives. Learn what to report and how to report. 

On this page

• Why it's important to report
• Who can report
• When to report
• What to report
• Types of products to report
• What might happen

Why it's important to report

Many injuries can be prevented. By sharing your story about consumer products and cosmetics that may cause harm, you can help us stop similar incidents or injuries from happening to other children and families.

Sharing your story helps us monitor the safety of products and how they're used. We use your reports to help us look into possible dangers. If there are dangers, we take action to help keep you and those you care about safe. 

Who can report

Anyone can report an incident related to a consumer product or cosmetic. Reporting by consumers is voluntary.

Parents and caregivers can report on behalf of their child or someone they care for. Health care professionals can encourage their patients to report or they can submit a report on behalf of their patients. 

Fire and safety authorities can also report a problem with a consumer product. In this case, they would report products for situations involving fire, smoke or overheating. 

Industry (manufacturers, importers, sellers) must report health or safety incidents involving a consumer product. This requirement is outlined in Section 14 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. However, reporting is voluntary for health or safety issues involving a cosmetic. 

When to report

You should report a product if:

• someone has been injured or nearly injured, has a bad reaction or dies from using it
• property has been damaged
• the product may harm someone because it doesn't work like it's supposed to
• safety instructions or labels appear to be missing, confusing or wrong
• you suspect that there has been a violation of the animal testing ban on cosmetics

What to report

You should share:

• what happened and when
• what the product is and where you got it
• any injuries or near misses that occurred and if treatment was needed
• photos of the product, product labels and injury or property damage caused by the product
• the web address (URL) and/or other identifying numbers, such as the Amazon Standard Identification Number (ASIN) and product number, if the product was purchased online
• how to contact you for more details about the incident (only if we need to)

Types of products to report

You may report an incident involving any consumer product or cosmetic, such as:

• household chemicals
• furniture and lighting
• creams and cleansers
• batteries and chargers
• appliances and devices
• clothing and accessories
• makeup and moisturizers
• children's products and toys
• sporting and athletic products

What might happen

Reporting might result in:

• monitoring for similar situations
• products being reviewed for safety
• warnings and safety alerts being issued
• products being recalled, which may involve them being fixed, replaced or taken off the market

The more people who report, with more complete information, the more it informs actions that can be taken.

Find information on recalls, advisories and safety alerts.