Living with Food Allergies

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Food Allergy Awareness Kit

Reporting an Allergic Reaction to Foods or Drugs

You can play an important public health role. The FDA wants your help in reporting any adverse reactions or other problems with products it regulates.

FDA works to ensure that foods are safe, wholesome, and correctly labeled.

Recalls

Sometimes products have incorrect labels, are defective or may be harmful. Removing those products from the market may be necessary.

Foods and Cosmetics

You can report adverse reactions or other problems with food (except meat and poultry) to the FDA. Contact the consumer complaint coordinator for your geographic area.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture regulates meat and poultry. You can report meat and poultry problems by calling 1-800-535-4555.

Drugs or Medical Devices

The MedWatch program monitors adverse effects and problems with medical products it regulates. This includes human drugs and medical devices, for example. MedWatch is a voluntary reporting system. Consumers and health professionals can file a report online with MedWatch.

You also can call the FDA Division of Drug Information at 301-827-4573. Request that they send you a MedWatch Voluntary Reporting Form.

Vaccines

The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintain the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Consumers and health professionals can report a vaccine problem online with VAERS.

More information about how to report an adverse reaction to a food or other product.

References

Food and Drug Administration. (June 10, 2013). How to Report Problems to the FDA. Retrieved May 22, 2014 from fda.gov/safety/report-problem-fda.