Tainted toothpaste and lead-laced toys have moved some of the risks of globalised trade into US consumers’ living rooms. With product safety in the headlines, politicians are predictably responding with competing proposals on how better to protect consumers.

Recalls this year have run the gamut from beef to false teeth, sourced both within the US and overseas. Proposed legislation would aim, in part, to control imports from frequent offenders including China, where toxic dog food, model trains and, most recently, Aqua Dots toys have caused mounting concern.