Arizona consumer watchdogs warn of increasing product recalls
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Following the Consumer Product Safety Commission's highest number of recalls since 2017, the Arizona Public Interest Group Education Fund has released a report on the safety of consumer products in the home.
The commission regulates and oversees about 15,000 products, including home appliances, toys, lawn mowers and swimming pools.
Teresa Murray, consumer watchdog director for the Arizona Public Interest Group Education Fund, said a product recall is not always as simple as it sounds.
"The commission puts out a product warning when they can't get the company to agree to a recall, and so at least warning people that this product is dangerous is better than nothing," Murray explained. "And what this means is that the CPSC doesn't have the authority to do a recall. They cannot force a recall. To do that, they have to go to court, and that takes years."
Murray noted the commission issued 402 recall announcements in 2025, at a rate of about one recall every 21 hours, double the number of recalls compared to 2024. The commission's recall list is updated weekly. Murray suggested consumers check it at least once a month.
Murray added there were roughly 900 injuries caused by products recalled in 2025 but pointed out because it takes so long for the commission to issue a recall, not all of those injuries occurred last year.
"It just takes so stinking long to get a hazardous product off the market," Murray stressed. "That's very frustrating from our standpoint as consumer advocates."
Murray underscored it can often cost a company tens of millions of dollars to recall a product, so they delay and negotiate to avoid it when they can.
