Product confessions: incident reporting factsheet for parents and caregivers
Your products can't tell us that they're not safe — but you can.
Did you know you can report injuries, near misses and safety concerns? It's easy and it could save lives.
Many injuries are preventable. By sharing your story about consumer products and cosmetics that may cause harm, you can help Health Canada stop similar incidents or injuries from happening to children and families — or to anyone in Canada.
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 can report any consumer product or cosmetic, including:
- Appliances and devices
- Batteries and chargers
- Clothing and accessories
- Children's products and toys
- Furniture and lighting
- Sporting and athletic products
- Household chemicals
- Makeup and moisturizers
- Creams and cleansers
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
- How to contact you for more details about the incident (only if we need to)
Reporting might result in:
- Products being reviewed for safety
- Monitoring for similar situations
- Warnings and safety alerts being issued
- Products being recalled or taken off the market
- Products being fixed or replaced
For more information about recalled consumer products and cosmetics, please visit Canada.ca/recalls.
You can learn more or submit a report at Canada.ca/report-a-product.
Your story can protect others.