Title 21, Food and DrugsRelease 119-73not60

§360h–1 Program to Improve the Device Recall System

Title 21 › Chapter 9— FEDERAL FOOD, DRUG, AND COSMETIC ACT › Subchapter V— DRUGS AND DEVICES › Part A— Drugs and Devices › § 360h–1

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Secretary must set up a program to regularly review information about device recalls and use that information to find ways to lower health risks from unsafe or defective devices. The program must also make clear how investigators should do recall audit checks, create rules to judge whether a company’s recall fix worked, and write down why the FDA ends any recall. The program must at least spot trends in how many and what kinds of recalls happen, name devices recalled most often, and find common causes of recalls. "Recall" means either a device removed by an FDA order or a fix or removal started by the manufacturer that must be reported to the FDA.

Full Legal Text

Title 21, §360h–1

Food and Drugs, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary shall—
(1)establish a program to routinely and systematically assess information relating to device recalls and use such information to proactively identify strategies for mitigating health risks presented by defective or unsafe devices;
(2)clarify procedures for conducting device recall audit checks to improve the ability of investigators to perform those checks in a consistent manner;
(3)develop detailed criteria for assessing whether a person performing a device recall has performed an effective correction or action plan for the recall; and
(4)document the basis for each termination by the Food and Drug Administration of a device recall.
(b)The program established under subsection (a)(1) shall, at a minimum, identify—
(1)trends in the number and types of device recalls;
(2)devices that are most frequently the subject of a recall; and
(3)underlying causes of device recalls.
(c)In this section, the term “recall” means—
(1)the removal from the market of a device pursuant to an order of the Secretary under subsection (b) or (e) of section 360h of this title; or
(2)the correction or removal from the market of a device at the initiative of the manufacturer or importer of the device that is required to be reported to the Secretary under section 360i(g) of this title.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2016—Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 114–255 redesignated subsec. (d) as (c) and struck out former subsec. (c). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary shall document the basis for the termination by the Food and Drug Administration of a device recall.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

21 U.S.C. § 360h–1

Title 21, Food and Drugs

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60