How to Report to the FDA

The Food and Drug Administration provides consumers with a number of phone numbers and websites that can aid them in contacting the FDA about a multitude of public health and safety issues, from unsanitary medical equipment to spoiled food products to dangerous makeup products. Reporting an issue to the FDA is typically done over the phone or via mailed-in complaint-reporting forms, though some complaints can be delivered to appropriate authorities through online submission forms.

Things You'll Need

• Product label or packaging
• Complaint forms (found on FDA website)

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Instructions

• 1

  Determine what you wish to report, as the FDA lists phone numbers and processes for several different reporting purposes. Purposes include emergencies, food reports, medical equipment reports, vaccine reports, blood transfusion and donations reports, animal feed reports, veterinary equipment reports and cosmetic reports.

• 2

  Call the correct number found on the FDA's website, if there is a number listed. Most of these numbers will allow you to request the appropriate form for filing a written report:

  Emergency reports (FDA emergency hotline):

  301-443-1240

  Food reports (U.S. Department of Agriculture hotline):

  800-535-4555

  Usda.gov

  Vaccine reports (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System):

  800-822-7967

  Vaers.hhs.gov

  Veterinary equipment reports (Center for Veterinary Medicine):

  888-332-8387

  Fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/

  Cosmetic reports (MedWatch):

  800-332-1088

  Fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch

• 3

  Fill out the appropriate form for your specific complaints and observations, making sure to be as detailed as possible. The FDA recommends giving names, addresses and phone numbers of people who may be affected, as well as your own contact information.

• 4

  Contact the manufacturer of the product you are reporting.

• 5

  Contact the store in which you purchased the product you are reporting, so the owner or manager is aware of the problem and can decide whether or not to pull it from the shelves.

• 6

  Call the FDA's consumer complaint coordinators if you are still unsure as to what to do, or are having trouble making contact with any of the aforementioned agencies. Visit the FDA's consumer complaints Web page (see Resources) to find the correct phone number for the state where you live.