Sunday, October 25, 2009

Major Product Recalls around the World, yearwise

A product recall is a request to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues. The recall is an effort to limit liability for corporate negligence (which can cause costly legal penalties) and to improve or avoid damage to publicity. Recalls are costly to a company because they often entail replacing the recalled product or paying for damages caused in use, albeit possibly less costly than indirect cost following damages to brand name and reduced trust in the manufacturer.

A country's consumer protection laws will have specific requirements in regard to product recalls. Such regulations may include how much of the cost the maker will have to bear, situations in which a recall is compulsory (usually because the risk is big enough), or penalties for failure to recall. The firm may also initiate a recall voluntarily, perhaps subject to the same regulations as if the recall were compulsory. In the case of a compulsory recall, consumers who fail to dispose of it or return it to the manufacturer for replacement or refund could be fined for as much as $5000.

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Friday, October 23, 2009

Product Recall by CADBURY

Product recall costs Cadbury £20m

Cadbury. Photogaph: Bruno Vincent/Getty

The salmonella scare that forced Cadbury Schweppes to recall more than 1m of its chocolate bars would cost £20m and is also hitting sales, the group admitted today.

The chief executive, Todd Stitzer, said Cadbury's market share in the UK had fallen 1.1 percentage points over the past four weeks.

The overall market was also hit by the sweltering temperatures and fell 7% in July.

Cadbury lost £5m of sales because of the recall, which cost £7m after insurance. The full-year cost is put at £20m and Mr Stitzer said the impact on trading was still being monitored.

"We have apologised to our consumers, customers and colleagues for any concerns caused and are implementing changes to our UK manufacturing and quality assurance processes so that this cannot happen again," he said.

He stressed that the affected products accounted for less than 3% of UK sales and about half a percent of group sales.

Mr Stitzer said Cadbury, the world's largest confectionery company, would be stepping up its marketing activity significantly in the second half and introducing of a number of new products in the UK. These include a dark chocolate Flake, Cadbury Highlights Chocolate and Cadbury Melts.

News of the cost of the contamination, which Cadbury blamed on a leaking pipe at one of its main factories, came as Cadbury reported a 14% increase in underlying first-half profits, taking them to £402m before tax. Sales for the six months to the end of June rose by 4% to £3.2bn.

The figures were ahead of most analysts' expectations and Mr Stitzer said he expected to deliver full-year sales growth towards the top end of the group's target range.

He said that while there had been a "relatively slow" start to the year, with sales growth of 2% in the first quarter, this had increased to 5.5% in the second quarter.

On the drinks side, sales were 4.3% ahead, driven by strong growth in Dr Pepper and Sunkist.

In confectionery, sales rose by 3.4%. Excluding the impact of the product recall and inventory clearances earlier in the year, the figure was 5%, the group said.

Worldwide, sales of its leading chocolate brand, Cadbury Dairy Milk, grew by 7% over the first half. Gum was the group's fastest growing category with revenues ahead by 11%. Its biggest gum brand, Trident, grew 31%.

Five of the seven products affected by the recall have just returned to the shelves - Dairy Milk Turkish 250g; Dairy Milk Caramel 250g; Dairy Milk Mint 250g; Dairy Milk Eight Chunk; and Dairy Milk 1kg.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Buttons Easter Egg will not reappear until next year, and Cadbury Freddo will not be restocked.




SOURCE

Monday, October 19, 2009

an MBA in INDIA reports on product recall issues

Product recall:
A product recall is a request to return to the maker, a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually over safety concerns or design defects or labeling errors that we will see in below list of cases compiled for diverse companies and product categories.


The issues:
Product recalls are not uncommon phenomenon as evident from below given compilation and best of the companies and brand leaders are involved in this from time to time.

When there is too much outsourcing to lower costs so that US CEOs can play golf and show company efficiency to shareholders, it gets worse.
1. Do product recalls relate to negligence on part of manufacturers in supply of goods? Do they damage Brand image or enforce it by effective and quick replacement of defective product/ repair? We may also call it damage control.

2. The decisions have to be taken fast on receiving a significant number of initial complaints about safety concerned defects common to all users or accidents that might have taken place or there is serious design or component problem in product which may create problem for image of company and drag them into litigations for costly settlements. Consumers' life may be at risk.

3. What about failure of service provider like lawyers, doctors and others (Called service failure and service recovery processes), because in this case recall is not possible.

4. What local governments do about this issue and what are laws in various parts of world –(We shall take only USA and India in this article) about these issues of product defects and safety concerns-specially for drugs, children products, automobiles, home gadgets and food items. Of course in any product, safety concern may exist like clothing or even bibs used for children.

5. What are consequences of defective product supplies and its cost of calling back?

6. WTO agreement has a chapter relating to Sanitary and Phyto-Sanitary (related to plant material sources) conditions for imported food and other related items, which is being criticized by India and many other developing countries as non-tariff barriers. But recent incidents seem to justify such controls especially in food products, drugs and electric goods and even textiles (inflammable skirts scandal that took place a few years back exported from India to USA buyer) and those that come in body contact like Toy paints or decorative items and cosmetics, of course.

7. How the product recalls can be handled and is it possible to build in a system for possible product recalls like that for disaster management systems and Information system crashes in companies? How companies can ensure quick and safe recalls and ensure traceability of goods down the channel of distribution, the response time to recall and the reverse logistics for customers returning goods and getting refund or replacement . Customers may ask for damages in courts (USA). The delay may be fatal for consumers in certain products like electric appliances, automobiles and food items/medicines.
The recalls do have financial implications for companies and some may get doomed even.


8. Why these product quality failures (technical, functional or ingredients quality) occur and are these avoidable by process control models and advances quality control systems? Many failures are accounted for by poor design and ignoring safety aspects, like sharp corners in toys or loose parts or buttons on children garments which can be swallowed by kids.
Generally speaking Companies recall products when defects seem to have safety concerns for customers and affect large number of customers. Otherwise normal warranty procedures are adequate as part of standard marketing practice. Thus recalls are more of preventive in nature and to pre-empt costly litigations and financial and goodwill losses.


The story of Product recalls:
My first encounter with product recall in market was when I was undergoing my MBA summer training at Glaxo Laboratories, now Glaxo Smithkline Beecham (GSK), Mumbai at their Worli, plant. Glaxo had a unit at Aligarh (U.P) to make Baby powder/foods like Farex (Remember the then famous 'bony bony baby –Farex baby' radio jingle? Later Aftab Shivdasani, now film star, had modeled as farex baby).This brand is now with Wochardt. Wockhardt acquired Dumex India; Protinex & Farex (News item dated July 1, 2006). Before that Heinz (USA food Giant) bought it from Glaxo 11 years back when Glaxo globally moved out from food business.


Due to some problem in composition of powder then in some batches , the product was recalled from market and I witnessed a flurry of activities by Glaxo staff , the effort being colossal even in those times (1977) of smaller sales volumes to contact various drug stores and other stores that marketed baby food and allied items. There were no faxes, TVs in small cities and emails (internet); phones were only in D.O.T monopoly and sluggish.


This process of recalling products from sales channel partners or consumers may be called Reverse logistics (read my paper on this on indianmba.com) and costs are enormous. To call back widely distributed consumer products like battery cells, toys, and baby powder is quite cumbersome and expensive with time shortage ( One can't wait for disaster to happen).


Frankly speaking I was wondering if there was no immediate threat to life of babies, why Glaxo had gone to such a length and did all efforts to call back product from markets and of course it had no alternate use except for making a bonfire, may be. But the Glaxo brand made deep impression on me as a socially responsible, ethical and professionally managed company.

Remember there were no Consumer Protection laws then and concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance did not exist in India, at least. It was License Raj in full swing and most of goods were in short supply.


Things have not improved since then and product recalls continue unabated across a cross section of industry and products by best of companies.


Let us have close look at some past and current cases of product recalls. These recalls are either for replacement or refund (return) or simply for repair or replacement of defective part(s) from product that is not meeting standards or is unsafe.

Very recently following product recalls have taken place (at the time of writing this article): USA/Globally-
Mattel Inc. toys, manufactured for them by a Foshan based Chinese company (the owner, Zhang Shuhong has already committed suicide (August 14, 2007 news item) for small detachable and swallow-able magnet in toys and lead (in paint) health hazards allegedly in some other toys. The recall runs into millions of toys.


The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued more warnings, this time recalling thousands of SpongeBob SquarePants journals, various spinning tops and children's jewelry, following Mattel episode.


A class-action lawsuit has already been filed against Mattel related to its recent recall of more than 1 million lead-tainted toys.


Nokia- Mobile phone batteries BL-5C (manufactured in China but for Matsushita, Japan) have been recalled for getting overheated and bursting during charging- Although most of mobile sets heat up while in use for a longer period continuously-this is yet to be addressed by mobile manufacturers who are busy reducing instrument size.

Another issue related to safety in Mobile hand sets is micro/radio wave emissions that emanate from handsets and being doubted as health hazard (no conclusive studies are yet available).

In perhaps the largest product recall in India, mobile giant Nokia recalled 46 million batteries pursuant to customer complaints across the globe.
A couple of days ago, Nokia issued a 'product advisory' (the company does not call it a recall) for these BL-5C batteries having certain period of manufacturing. On the first day of the opening of its centre (August 16) for advice on the faulty batteries, Nokia India answered 20,000 calls and received 1.45 lakh SMSes , according to Devinder Kishore, Director- Marketing.



Other product recall cases in recent past:
In another case Toyota (Japanese) had to recall 500 thousand Tundra light trucks for some steering system defect that caused serious accidents. (Can one imagine the gigantic task?)


Robert Bosch Tool Corp. and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) USA recently announced a recall of more than 800,000 Skil-brand power circular saws due to laceration risk.


For the second time this year, toymaker 'Hasbro' has issued a recall for about 1 million Easy-Bake Ovens (children's Gizmo)after receiving complaints that young children were getting their hands or fingers stuck in the oven's opening, causing serious burns.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Hasbro received about 249 complaints of children getting their hands stuck, 77 of them reporting burns.


Cadbury was recently fined $2 Million in Salmonella case (a Typhoid bacterium and potential bio weapon)


Atico International (USA) recalled about 392,000 coffeemakers sold exclusively at Walgreen because they pose a fire hazard. The manufacturer said it has received 14 reports of electrical failure and six reports in which the coffeemaker ignited. So far, no injuries have been reported. Signature Gourmet and Kitchen Gourmet coffeemakers can ignite due to an electrical failure and may cause a fire.


IBM and computer maker Lenovo announced in September 2006, a recall of 526,000 laptop batteries worldwide made by Sony Corp. because of a fire risk. The recall affects the lithium-ion batteries found on the ThinkPad Notebook line of laptops, which were sold by both IBM and Lenovo. Sony Corporation also announced it would initiate a global replacement program of the company's lithium-ion batteries but did not provide any details of the program.


In 2006, Dell recalled 4.1 million notebook computer batteries made by Sony because of overheating and fire risks. It was the largest recall in the company's history.


Then, Apple recalled 1.8 million iBook and PowerBook laptop batteries that were also made by Sony.


Maytag Corp. has recalled 636,000 Hoover Self-Propelled Upright Vacuums due to a defective on-off switch , according to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission. The CPSC said Maytag (Research) has received 249 reports of vacuums overheating -- which caused the handle area to smoke, melt or catch fire -- due to the switch problem. One minor burn injury requiring no medical attention was reported.
April 2007: Nestle voluntarily recalled it's Caramel Kit Kat Chunky bars and KitKat Cookie Dough Chocolate bars due to some bits of hard plastic being found in it.
Merck & Co. reported its worst annual profit since 1998 after pulling Vioxx off the market late last year and boosted the amount it set aside for lawsuits over the recall of the once popular painkiller (this is sold in India too). Merck added $604 million in the fourth quarter to the $71 million it had previously set aside to cover litigation related to Vioxx, the company said. Merck officials also said they believe that losses related to the drug are behind it, news that ignited a rally in the drug maker's beaten-up stock (shares).
Old Navy has agreed to voluntarily recall about 666,000 children's coats and fleece pullovers because the zipper pull could present a choking hazard, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced Tuesday. The company received 13 reports of the zipper pull detaching. No children have been injured, although there has been one report of the zipper pull being found in a child's mouth, the agency said. The recall involves seven different styles of outerwear tops, including a fur-trimmed coat, pullover fleece wear and fleece jumpers with a hood. The garments being recalled have a clear, oval-shaped zipper pull and were sold in sizes 6 months to 4T.
Clover is a popular brand of dairy spread in the United Kingdom, produced by the Dairy Crest group. It resembles butterfat but is easier to spread when cold. The brand was launched in 1983 and the company claims that it is used in over 5 million households. It is made near Telford.
Over 2 million tubs of Clover spread were recalled by Dairy Crest in a recall announced on Saturday, 26 May 2007. All Clover spread products of all sizes have been recalled by Dairy Crest and refunds to consumers have been offered on all products with a lid date of 10 August 2007. The recall as announced by Dairy Crest. The cause is the occurrence of an unknown sourced mold (a kind of fungus) in product.
Pfizer recalled Benadryl products to correct labeling error. Pfizer initiated a voluntary recall from store shelves of Benadryl Allergy & Sinus Fastmeltä and Benadryl Children's Allergy/Cold Fastmelt tablets on june 02, 2001.
The Automobile Industry Safety issues are one big reason of product recalls:
FORD cars recalled finally: Two years after his wife of 34 years died in a fire, an Iowa man continues to maintain that the blaze was started by a faulty cruise control switch under the hood of her 1996 Ford F-150 pickup truck -- while it was parked in the garage attached to his home.
Although Ford had denied -- and continues to deny -- the switch started the fire that killed 74-year-old Dolly Mohlis in 2005, The Company settled a lawsuit brought against it by Earl Mohlis. And it issued a recall of an estimated 3.6 million vehicles -- bringing the total recalled over the past decade to more than 10 million -- every single car and truck built with a similar cruise control switch.
The famous General Motors Controversy:
General Motor's model Chevrolet 'Corvair' was nicknamed 'unsafe at any speed' after Ralph Nader's publication in 1965, the author who fought dangerous battle with GM but ultimately won. He was intimidated to remain silent. Automobiles in fact is one industry that had and has several safety concerns like Tire and suspension designs, gear shifting system pattern, air bags ( introduced in 90s in USA finally), front bumper and crash resistance of its body and chassis. Large numbers of people die in defective design cars, equally poor maintenance and negligence in India and other countries, even USA. The automobile industry being powerful giant have successfully managed to scuttle several such issues for decades. Ralph Nader's contribution in his even named book cannot be undermined.
Peltzman Effect
The impact of the safety regulations that spawned because of the book became the basis of a paper by economist Sam Peltzman. The conclusions of this paper—that the regulations actually caused additional deaths—became known as the Peltzman Effect. Peltzman argued that because regulation made cars safer, getting into an accident became cheaper (it was less risky) and so it happened more. Driver and passenger deaths changed little after the regulations were in place, but pedestrian deaths increased, probably because there was no improvement to car safety with respect to those outside the vehicle.
Peltzman also argued that car safety was already improving, though at a slow rate, since the invention of the car. These improvements tended to be minor but had a huge impact in improving safety (such as a rearview mirror mounted on the outside of the car and automatically canceling turn signals) (Courtesy CNN.com)


Indian Scenario
1.As far as India is concerned , In 1994 Maruti Udyog recalled Maruti 800 cars due to some problem in front axle components which endangered customer safety on road ( for axle replacement only, of course). In case of cars it is relatively easy to do that as customers are in finite numbers and their database is available with dealers/company. Maruti incidentally was in a collaborative sector with Suzuki Japan, which now fully owns the company.
2.The MDH (Mahashian Di Hatti Limited) brand name is very well known throughout India. It is an exporter too.The products sold under the brand name include single spices (such as chilli, coriander and turmeric) as well as blended spice mixtures.The Food Standards Agency of UK recently announced withdrawal of MDH Sambar Masala due to its contamination with Sudan I (an diazo-conjugate dye with a chemical formula of 1-phenylazo-2-naphthol. Sudan I is a powdered substance with an orange-red appearance. The additive is mainly used to colour waxes, oils, petrol, solvents and polishes. Sudan I has also been adopted for colouring various foodstuffs, including particular brands of curry powder and chili powder, although the use of Sudan I in foods is now banned in many countries due to inconclusive reports on its possible health risks. But it still is used as a coloring for cotton refuse used in chemistry experiments.
3.Soft drinks & Pesticides Controversy
A couple of years back there was tremendous rage in India generated due to a Delhi based research lab's report that all MNC and Indian company made soft drinks had pesticides contents far more than internationally accepted standards. The basic cause was contaminated water in India with pesticides used indiscriminately. But that could not give excuse to producers to pass off contaminated drinks.


SOURCE

Sunday, October 18, 2009

food recall in India

FBD: India to announce food recall regulations

By Sabyasachi Samajdar, FoodBizDaily.com Bureau Chief – New Delhi
August 3, 2009 – In order to guide Food Business Operators (FOBs) on how to carry out a food recall the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India will soon announce regulation for recall procedures by issuing a government notification. This regulation may be called Food Authority’s Food Recall Procedures Regulations, 2009, a top government official told FoodBizDaily.com here today.
According to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, this regulation will guide FBOs on how to establish a written recall plan for carrying out food recall in order to ensure the hygiene, safety and quality of food and to protect the health of consumers and to establish a follow-up action or post recall report in order to ensure the effectiveness of the recall and prevent a repetition.
Sources said that the ‘Recall’ may be carried out voluntarily by manufacturers and distributors to remove unsafe food from the market to prevent injury to consumers. Seizure or other court action may be taken when a firm refuses to undertake a recall directed by the Local Competent Authority or where the LCA/Food Authority has sufficient reasons to believe that a recall would not be effective, determines that a recall is ineffective, or discovers that a violation is continuing.
Recalls are to be carried out in the shortest time practicable to minimize risk involved. common interest of the consumer and industry, recall guidelines provide for stopping distribution and sale of the affected food product; informing the LCA (all recalls) and the public (under specific circumstances) of the problem; effectively and efficiently remove the potentially unsafe food product from the marketplace.
It is learnt that all food businesses engaged in the wholesale supply, manufacture or importation of foods regulated by Food Authority must have an up-to-date recall plan except food retailers, unless they are also engaged in the wholesale supply, manufacture or importation of food.
Food businesses within the food service sector such as restaurants and takeaways are exempted to have recall plan unless they are running multi-outlet food business chains having integrated manufacturing and distribution network.
However, such food businesses in the food service sector may be part of another business’ recall i.e. they may need to remove recalled stock from the shelves and return it to the manufacturer, importer or wholesaler.

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Thursday, September 3, 2009

type of recall classes

There are three classes of recall used by the FDA and USDA: Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3, often represented with Roman numerals I, II and III respectively. While both the FDA and USDA have their own definitions of product recall classes, they follow the same general rule – 1= most serious / dangerous, 2= potentially dangerous and 3 = least dangerous. Regardless of the classification level of a recall, consumers are advised to take each of them seriously and follow the instructions provided by the agency responsible for the recall.

FDA RECALL CLASSES DEFINED
When the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recalls a product, they classify it into three classes (much like USDA) based on the relative health risk:

Class I Recalls by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are the most severe type of FDA recall. In a Class-I recall there is a potential for serious injury or death.

Class II Recalls are issued on products that have a lower chance of causing major injuries or death, but where there is still the possibility of serious enough adverse events to have irreversible consequences.

Class III Recalls are not very likely to cause adverse health consequences, but there is still a chance and therefore the product is being recalled.

USDA RECALL CLASSES DEFINED
When the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Recall Committee recommends a recall, they classify the recall into three classes (much like FDA) based on the relative health risk:

Class 1 USDA recalls are the most serious and involve a health hazard situation in which there is a reasonable probability that eating the food will cause health problems or death.

Class 2 USDA recalls involve a potential health hazard situation in which there is a remote probability of adverse health consequences from eating the food.

Class 3 USDA recalls involve a situation in which eating the food will not cause adverse health consequences.





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Tuesday, September 1, 2009

garage sale

If you're planning a garage sale or organizing a church bazaar, you'd best beware: You could be breaking a new federal law. As part of a campaign called Resale Roundup, the federal government is cracking down on the secondhand sales of dangerous and defective products.

The initiative, which targets toys and other products for children, enforces a new provision that makes it a crime to resell anything that's been recalled by its manufacturer.

"Those who resell recalled children's products are not only breaking the law, they are putting children's lives at risk," said Inez Tenenbaum, the recently confirmed chairwoman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

The crackdown affects sellers ranging from major thrift-store operators such as Goodwill and the Salvation Army to everyday Americans cleaning out their attics for yard sales, church bazaars or - increasingly - digital hawking on eBay, Craigslist and other Web sites.

This is an example of government gone insane. There is no area of our economy that Obama doesn't want top regulate. They will also reap the "benefit" of crippling private charities by over regulation thereby forcing more people to turn to the government for help.

These people are truly evil.




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Saturday, August 29, 2009

5 things u must know about product recall

Consumers in the United States depend on the government to ensure the safety of products sold in the country. Given the volume and diversity of commodities available through various distribution channels across the nation, monitoring product safety is a monumental task. Product defects occur.

Recent news headlines have alerted us to tainted foods and defective medical devices that have been withdrawn from circulation because of their threats to public health. Each consumer needs to have reliable information necessary to take appropriate action when recalls happen . This article poses and answers five simple questions about the product recall process used in the United States.

1. Which agency has responsibility for product recalls?

The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) is the federal agency responsible for ensuring the safety of a variety of products in widespread use in the U.S.

2. What products are subject to recall?

The FDA regulates and monitors the safety of a long list of products, including:

* Drugs used by humans and animals

* Vaccines

* Biologics, such as blood, blood-based products, and transplantable human tissue

* Animal feed

* Medical devices

* Radiation-emitting products

* Cosmetics

* Approximately 80% of the foods eaten in the U.S. (the FDA does not regulate meat, poultry, and egg products).

3 . Why does the agency recall products?

Yes, you guessed correctly. The primary reason for a recall is to protect public health and safety. When an FDA-regulated product is either defective or potentially harmful, it is removed from the market -- permanently, or until the problem is fixed.

According to FDA, it is rare for the agency to request a recall. Most product calls are voluntary. Sometimes a company discovers a problem and recalls a product on its own. In other situations, a company initiates the recall after FDA raises concerns about a product.

4. What criteria are used to determine product risks?

Regardless of the initiator, risks associated with product defects vary. Consequently, the FDA uses the level of hazard to categorize all recalls into one of three classes:

* Class I includes dangerous or defective products that predictably could cause serious health problems or death. Products, such as the recent cases of faulty pacemakers and bacteria-tainted peanut butter, fall under this category. Other examples include foods with undeclared allergens and a product label mix-up on a lifesaving drug.

* Class II products might cause a temporary health problem, or pose only a slight threat of a serious nature. An example would be an under-strength drug, which though sub-standard, may not be life threatening.

* Class III products are unlikely to cause any adverse health reaction, but they are recalled for violating FDA product labeling or manufacturing laws. An example would be minor defects in product packaging.

5. Where can consumers get updates on product recalls?

The FDA does not publicize all recalls in the media. It uses media publicity only when the public needs to be alerted to a serious hazard associated with a defective product. However, you can obtain full details about all recalled products in the FDA's weekly publication titled Enforcement Report. You can sign up for updates at the agency's website: http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/default.htm.

Rachel Agheyisi is an economist with over 25 years of business research, writing, and corporate consulting experience. She is the Executive Director of Report Content Writer, a company that specializes in writing white papers and case studies used by IT companies for generating leads in the biotech, financial services, and health care industries.
http://www.reportcontentwriter.com

Email me at rachel@reportcontentwriter.com on how I may help you develop content-rich white papers and case studies.

Comm




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Product Liability: making a claim

LIABILITY FOR MANUFACTURING OR DISTRIBUTING A DEFECTIVE PRODUCT IN INDIA

In India, Product liability law, also called “products liability”, governs the liability of manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors, and vendors for injury to a person or property caused by dangerous or defective products. The goal of product liability laws is to help protect consumers from dangerous or defective products, while holding manufacturers, distributors, and retailers responsible for putting into the market place products that they knew or should have known were dangerous or defective.

Civil Product liability in India is, essentially, governed by

a) The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

b) The Sales of Goods Act, 1930

c) The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as the “MRTP Act”)

d) The law of Torts.

e) special statues pertaining to specific goods

The laws relating to product liability, in India, have been constantly evolving, by way of judicial interpretations and amendments, to become one of the most important socio-economic legislations for the protection of consumers. The legislation, in respect of product liability in India, though was enacted to protect the interest of consumers but the same was, earlier, construed narrowly, thereby frustrating the object sought to be achieved. The trend, however, has changed in the recent times with the Courts adopting a pro-consumer approach. The Courts, in India, have now started awarding compensation and damages which are more punitive than compensatory in nature.

In Wheels World vs. Pradeep Kumar Khurana MANU/CF/0280/2002 the complainant, a doctor by profession, complained to the respondent about deficiency in service in not repairing, free of charge, a technical fault, which occurred during warranty period, in his new Montana car and then not delivering the same for a period of 4 years. A sum of Rs. 30, 000/- with interest @ 18% per annum from 2/7/1988 to 7/5/1992, was awarded as compensation, in favour of the complainant for his suffering, both professionally and otherwise, on account of non availability of car for a period of 4 years. Further interest, at the same rate for the same period, was also awarded on an amount of Rs. 82, 000/-, being the price of the car as well as an amount of Rs. 55, 00/- towards costs and, last but not the least, an amount of Rs. 50, 000/-, which was deposited by the Respondent on account of stay of imprisonment, was also awarded to the petitioner.

The product liability law, in India, apart from the civil liability, also imposes criminal liability in case of non-compliance with the provisions of each of the below mentioned Acts. The said Acts are in addition to and not in derogation of any other laws in force, which implies that an action imposing penal liability can be simultaneously initiated along with a claim under civil law. Some of these are special Acts pertaining to sale of specific goods such as food, drugs, cosmetics etc.. The provisions of these enactments are preventive in form , though the relief envisaged is an action for breach in civil or criminal court.

· The Foods Adulteration Act, 1954

· The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

· The Drug & Cosmetics Act, 1940

· The Indian Penal Code, 1860

· The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1956

· The Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act, 1937 for marking and grading of commodities like vegetables, butter, etc.

· The Indian Standards Institution (Certification Marks) Act , 1952 to formulate a number of standards for different products by ISI

· The Bureau of Indian Standards Act , 1986

Each of the aforesaid Acts provides for imposition of fine and/or imprisonment in case of supply of defective products or adulterated consumables.

The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 is the most recent legislation which comprehensively deals with food and safety standards which are to be complied with by manufacturers and producers, non-compliance of which imposes a liability, upon defaulters, of fine, extending upto Rs. Ten Lakhs and/or imprisonment.

The provisions of Indian Penal Code (IPC), on the other hand, in respect of product liability, are attracted when the element of cheating and fraud can be attributed to such defects. For example, in the case of Smt. Uma Deepak v. Maruti Udyog Ltd Ors (2003) CPJ 90(MRTP) the Complainant alleged that the car sold by the opposite party was not only accidental but the price, for the same, was also overcharged. The Court, in response to the allegations made by the complainant, directed arrest of the Directors as well as the manager of the dealers/agents who sold the said defective car to the complainant and remanded them to judicial custody. Subsequent thereto, the said officers of the opposite party were released on bail and were directed to replace the disputed car with a new car.

Provisions of IPC are also attracted to provide punishment to offenders for false weights and measures , adulteration of goods ( food, drugs etc -6 months imprisonment, fine of 1000 rupees or both), and false property marks ( one year imprisonment, fine or both). The period of limitation as per Section 468 of the Criminal Procedure Code is 6 months if offence is punishable with fine only , and one year if offence is punishable with upto one year imprisonment and three years if offence is punishable with imprisonment of above one year and upto three years.

The provisions of the Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976 are attracted in case of any false packaging, weight or measure which does not conform to the standards established by or under the said Act and breaches the mandatory declaratory requirements on a package. If any mandatory declaration is found missing on the package a fine of upto 2000 rupees shall be levied as per Rule 39 of the Standards of weights and measures packaged commodity rules.

The Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940 also provides for criminal liability for manufacturers and producers of medicinal products or cosmetics etc, which do not adhere to the prescribed standards.





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