Consumer product and cosmetics reports received

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The five-year, annual, and quarterly surveillance summaries from the Consumer Product Safety Program provide information on mandatory and voluntary reports received by the Program.

  • Under section 14 (Duties in the Event of an Incident) of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), companies are responsible for reporting to Health Canada about health- or safety-related incidents involving any of the consumer products they manufacture, import, sell or advertise.
  • Voluntary reports about consumer products (as defined under the CCPSA) and cosmetics (which are regulated under the Cosmetic Regulations of the Food and Drugs Act) are also received from consumers, other governments, and safety organisations.

Statistics in these summaries include the total number of reports received, the proportion of industry and consumer reports, the breakdown of the percentage of reports received across product categories, the top product types for which reports were received, and information on reports involving an injury. Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Five-year surveillance summaries from the Consumer Product Safety Program

Annual surveillance summaries from the Consumer Product Safety Program

Quarterly surveillance summaries from the Consumer Product Safety Program

Note: We archived the individual quarterly surveillance summaries because all their data is available in the new dashboard. If you would like to request a PDF copy of an individual quarter of data, please send the request to: CPS-SPC@hc-sc.gc.ca

These reports contribute to our unique, national perspective on consumer product safety across a wide range of products. They also help us assess and identify possible or emerging hazards with consumer products.

We review all reports on consumer products for possible health or safety hazards. We consider many factors such as the age of the person involved, the severity of any injuries, and any other details of the event. This allows us to focus our risk assessment and risk management actions on products that may pose an unacceptable risk to Canadians. We keep a close eye on all reported health or safety concerns in case more information is required or reports identify a need for action.

Product categories

A consumer product is a product, including its components, parts or accessories, that may reasonably be expected to be obtained by an individual to be used for non-commercial purposes, including for domestic, recreational and sports purposes, and includes its packaging. A cosmetic includes any substance or mixture of substances manufactured, sold or represented for use in cleansing, improving or altering the complexion, skin, hair or teeth, and includes deodorants and perfumes.

Health Canada classifies all consumer products and cosmetics for which reports are received under nine product categories. This system has been designed to reflect the organization of products on the Canadian marketplace. Examples of the kinds of products in each category include:

  • Appliances: Kitchen appliances; heating and cooling appliances; laundry and cleaning appliances.
  • Children's products: Nursery products; baby gear; toys.
  • Clothing, textiles and accessories: Clothing; household textiles; footwear.
  • Electronics: Televisions and home theatres; electronic cables, batteries and chargers; computers and peripherals; cellphones and accessories.
  • Home and automobile maintenance: Construction materials; tools.
  • Housewares: Furniture; home décor; lighting; household cleaning; kitchenware.
  • Outdoor living: Outdoor furniture and decorations; pools and accessories; lawn and garden.
  • Grooming products and accessories: Beauty and body care; beauty accessories; oral care.
  • Sports, recreation and hobby: Sports and outdoor activities; play structures; hobby or crafts.
  • "Other" or "not elsewhere classified": when the code includes either of these phrases, it means that there is no specific code for that particular product.
  • "Not specified": when the code includes this phrase, it means that not enough information was provided on the product to assign a more precise code.

Product categories are further sub-divided into product types. These types are based on the United States National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) coding. Each product type presented in these infographics is based on an individual NEISS code, but the code name may have been modified in the infographic for simplicity.

Some NEISS codes include one of the phrases "not elsewhere classified", "other", or "not specified". This is common in cases where there are many different codes for a set of products. For example, there are several NEISS codes for toys. Two of these codes are "Toys, not elsewhere classified" and "Toys, not specified". This allows appropriate coding for every toy even if none of the specific codes is appropriate or if very little information is given to allow proper assignment to a more specific code.

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