The last thing anyone wants to hear is that their favorite food or beauty product is being pulled from the shelves because of a recall. Some would say that ignorance is bliss, but with Whystle, knowledge is a major tool.
The app, which keeps users updated on recalls, launched in May. With more than 1,000 downloads in a month, the Arlington-based company is tackling the struggles of getting product information to the masses.
“Recalls are actually very common, but it’s sort of like spam,” co-founder and CEO Lauren Bell said. “There can be anywhere from five to 20 recalls a week. When government agencies announce recalls, a lot of them have nothing to do with you.”
Whystle personalizes recall alerts so that users don’t have to sift through the junk. Users create a profile detailing their allergies, pregnancy status, pets and other factors that could determine a recall’s relevance.
Before trying her hand at entrepreneurship, Bell worked at the U.S. Department of Justice for nine years, prosecuting companies with unsafe products. Afterward, she worked at a law firm, advising companies that had recall issues. That’s when she realized something was wrong.
“I couldn’t believe how there’s all these government attorneys prosecuting and these companies are trying to get the information out to consumers, but people are still getting hurt,” Bell said.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission and Food and Drug Administration constantly update their websites with recent food and product recalls, but the information is hardly dispersed on a large scale.
Bell said Whystle plans on integrating users’ purchases into the app in the future, allowing the app to notify users when one of their purchases is on a recall list.
Whystle is now available for download for iPhone.
