You’ve had enough and you do have a right to know if that toy or product you just bought and spent good hard earned money is safe to use.

Every week, it seems there's yet another product recall in the news—from tainted pet food to toys with lead paint to cars. The recent recall of toys brings to mind the present danger that lurks for unknowing consumers.

And that’s only public knowledge. Are manufacturers sacrificing consumer safety for higher profit margins? You be the judge.

So what is your best defense?

Simple: timely awareness and attention to product recalls and news in consumer magazines and the general media.

To keep you up to date on the latest recalls, here are a few government sites that offer authoritative lists of recalled products.

From the information provided you will be armed with valuable information on what products are being recalled, how and where to report product safety problems and how to find out more about warnings or recalls that have been announced.

• Recalls.gov
http://www.recalls.gov
+U.S. government recalls reports from six major federal agencies.

• U.S. Food and Drug Administration
http://www.fda.gov/opacom/7alerts.html
+Product actions of the last 60 days, based on distribution and degree of health risk.

• Food Safety and Inspection Service—
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fsis_Recalls/
+Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, monitoring meat, poultry, and eggs.

• U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission—
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html
+Timely unbiased reviews potential problems from more than 15,000 types of consumer products.

• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—
http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/problems/recalls/recallsearch.cfm
+Notices and information on recalls on motor vehicles, child safety devices, tires, etc.

• U.S. Coast Guard—
http://www.uscgboating.org/recalls/recalls.htm
+Information on defects on boats made or imported into the United States.

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency—
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/alerts.htm
+Monitoring potential problems caused by pesticides.

Good luck and be safe!