The Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, known as CFSAN, provides services to consumers, domestic and foreign industry and other outside groups regarding field programs; agency administrative tasks; scientific analysis and support; and policy, planning and handling of critical issues related to food, dietary supplements, and cosmetics.

Report a Complaint

Frequently Requested Information

Information for Industry

Information for Consumers

Resources from Other Government Agencies

Report a Complaint

How to Report a Problem with Food

• For all questions or problems related to meat and poultry, please contact USDA.
• If you are a consumer, health professional, or member of the food industry who wants to voluntarily report a complaint or adverse event (illness or serious allergic reaction) related to a food product, you have three choices:
  • Call an FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator if you wish to speak directly to a person about your problem.
  • Complete an electronic Voluntary MedWatch form online.
  • Complete a paper Voluntary MedWatch form that can be mailed to FDA.
• If you are a member of the food industry who needs to submit a Reportable Food Registry report when there is a reasonable probability that an article of food will cause serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals, please visit the Reportable Food Registry page.

How to Report Seafood-Related Toxin and Scombrotoxin Fish Poisoning Illnesses

To help FDA effectively investigate, remove unsafe seafood products from the market, and develop new prevention strategies, the FDA relies on illness reporting from public health officials and healthcare providers. While most foodborne outbreaks are tracked through the FDA’s Coordinated Outbreak Response and Evaluation (CORE) network, seafood-related illnesses caused by natural toxins have a unique reporting mechanism.

• To report an illness related to natural toxins from other fish, see How to Report Seafood-Related Toxin and Scombrotoxin Fish Poisoning Illnesses.
• To report an illness from raw bivalve molluscan shellfish, email the FDA at shellfishepi@fda.hhs.gov.

How to Report a Problem with Dietary Supplements

• If you are a consumer or health professional who wants to voluntarily report defects in the quality or safety of a dietary supplement or an adverse event (illness or serious allergic reaction) related to a dietary supplement, please visit the Safety Reporting Portal.
• If you are an industry member who needs to file a Mandatory Adverse Event Report about a dietary supplement as required by section 761 of the FD&C Act, please visit the Safety Reporting Portal. If you need assistance or have any questions about reporting on dietary supplements, see Dietary Supplements - Reporting an Adverse Event for more information.

How to Report a Problem with Cosmetics

If you are a consumer, health professional, or member of the cosmetics industry who wants to report a complaint or adverse event (such as an illness, allergic reaction, rash, irritation, scarring, or hair loss) related to a cosmetic, you have three choices:

• Call an FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinators if you wish to speak directly to a person about your problem.
• Complete and submit an electronic MedWatch Online Voluntary Reporting Form.
• Complete a paper MedWatch Consumer Voluntary Reporting Form and mail or fax it to FDA.
  Mail or fax the form to: MedWatch, Food and Drug Administration, 5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville, MD 20852; FAX: 800-332-0178 (toll-free).

To learn more, see How to Report a Cosmetic Related Complaint.

Frequently Requested Information

What Does FDA Regulate?

Current Outbreaks

Contact Information for Other FDA Centers and Offices (Drugs, Tobacco, Devices, Biologics, and more)

CFSAN Adverse Event Reporting System (CAERS) Database (contains information on adverse event and product complaint reports submitted to FDA for foods, dietary supplements, and cosmetics)