Several federal agencies are responsible for the regulation and recall of consumer products.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission may be best known. The agency handles more than 15,000 types of consumer products generally used in or around the home, including appliances, clothing, children's products, outdoor and sports equipment, furniture and electronics and electrical items.

However, five other federal agencies have key consumer protection roles.

For example, the National Highway Safety Administration is responsible for motor vehicle and vehicle equipment recalls. The U.S. Coast Guard handles consumer complaints regarding recreational boats and boating equipment.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture regulates meat, poultry and eggs, while the Food and Drug Administration has jurisdiction as to recalls involving other food and animal feed.

The Food and Drug Administration also has recall jurisdiction over drugs and vaccines, blood and plasma products and other biologics, medical devises and even veterinary products and cosmetics.

The Environmental Protection Agency has recall jurisdiction over fungicides, rodenticides and pesticides.

With so many agencies involved in product regulation and recall, how do consumers find out about recalls or properly report unsafe products?

A good way to keep up with recalls and report unsafe products is to use the federal government Internet site found at www.recalls.gov.

The site is a cooperative effort of the six federal agencies. The "one stop shop" allows consumers to search recalls, report unsafe products and follow links to agency home pages for more information.

Opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. Joseph Pellicciotti is a lawyer, professor and associate vice chancellor at Indiana University Northwest.