Need to get safety and regulatory messages on the move ? Apps-olutely!

Up-to-date and on the move​

The apps are designed to provide consumers up-to-date information regarding the safety of cosmetics, food and drugs, ensuring they never miss a recall, whilst tapping into the booming mobile applications market.

The value of the mobile applications market is forecast to reach $17.5bn by 2012, and is a market that has seen many cosmetic companies utilise, with regulatory bodies now entering the fold.

Apps like the one developed by Recall.gov are now on the market, pulling information from the Food and Drug Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, as well as several consumer watchdog groups, to constantly keep people informed of any safety issues whilst on the move.

More convenient than the internet​

Even with the internet on our side, by the time information about a recall is circulated, consumers may have already purchased, or even used, a recalled product, which has prompted the development of specific mobile apps.

Many of these apps, like Recall.gov or Recall Watch developed by Stellar Computer Systems, post live updates as well as having a search function, enabling users to check the history of a product.

Earlier this year Procter and Gamble had ten shades of its Clairol Natural Instincts products recalled with immediate effect, as some of the kits were said to produce an unwanted color result.

The products were promptly removed from the shelves; however some did end up in the homes of consumers due to the time taken to issue and carry out the recall, something the mobile apps will look to resolve or at least aid.