Report an incident involving a consumer product or cosmetic

Reporting for industry

Under section 14 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, industry must report health or safety incidents involving a consumer product. You can report a health or safety incident directly to us using the available form.

Industry is encouraged to voluntarily report health or safety issues involving a cosmetic.

Reporting for consumers

You can report a consumer product or cosmetic for health or safety issues directly to us using the available form.

You are also encouraged to send a report to the manufacturer, importer or retailer of the product or cosmetic.

If you need to report another type of product or issue, for example, an adverse drug or medical device reaction, unfair trade practice, pesticide, food safety or labelling, other forms are available.

Information that should be included in your report

Consumers and industry should send detailed information including:

Product information
- product brand and name
- description of product
- where you got the product (store or other)
- age recommendation on the product packaging
Incident information
- who was injured
- what was the injury
- date of the incident
- description of the incident
- what type of medical care was received

Other helpful information would be the:

numbers on the product or product packaging
- serial number
- model number
- Universal Product Code (UPC)
date of manufacture or import
date the product was purchased
address where the product was manufactured or imported from

If you are a consumer, we also may need to know if:

you still have the product
the product is new, borrowed or second-hand
the manufacturer, importer or retailer was told of the incident and, if yes, what their response was

What happens after you submit your form

We deal with reports involving more serious health and safety risks first.

We assign a case number to the first form you submit about the incident, notification, report or complaint. This case number will be used in all communications with you.

We check your report to find out if it needs more information. We will also make sure that we are the right department to deal with your concern.
We may contact you for more details.

If we're not the right organization to deal with your report, we'll direct you to the correct one. We will also forward your report to the right place, but only with your permission.

If further actions are needed, we will follow compliance and enforcement policies and procedures.

Safety of personal information

The personal information you provide is protected under the Privacy Act.

Your personal information is only shared if you have given your consent in the form, unless the disclosure is required or otherwise authorized by law.

Help with forms

Information is available if you need help submitting your form.

You can also submit your report by mail or email.

Contact us

Email: CPS-SPC@hc-sc.gc.ca or

Incident Report - Consumer Product Safety Directorate
Health Canada
269 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, ON, Canada
K1A 0K9
Address Locator: 4909A

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