Survival Guide for Handling Food Recalls

Companies should use the templates and forms that worked well during previous mock recall exercises to quickly identify and isolate affected products.

Convey the Message

Communication is one of the most important tenets in crisis management–not only to consumers but to all stakeholders. Company employees, too, share a role in conveying a consistent message about the recall.

Companies should use any type of communication format that will reach their customers. A public notice on a regulatory website may or may not get noticed by their target consumers. Use the media with care because the message a company sends is permanently recorded with today’s technology. Food companies should also contact distributors, retailers, and customers to inform them of the recall, including instructions on how to handle the product.

Another key part of conveying the message is answering all questions. Better yet, anticipate those questions and communicate the information before the questions arise. This not only demonstrates the control a company has over its operation and the crisis situation but also works to reassure and calm stakeholders and, in the process, helps to maintain the company’s reputation.

Open Doors

When a product recall occurs, it is important for a food company to open its doors quickly. The best approach in dealing with this attention is to cooperate with customer and consumer inquiries and, inevitably, with regulatory authorities.

But Is It Working?

Throughout the recall process, checks must be put into place to ensure that the product recall is effective. The returned product is received and counted in order to compare against the amount produced and determine the recovery rate.

Additionally, a decision may have been made to send product to an off-site or third-party warehouse due to space constraints or to better isolate it from other production lots. This inventory should be verified regularly to ensure a correct count and secure location.

Write It Down

Food companies must keep track of all events, decisions, and meetings as they occur. A great deal of information is being exchanged, and many decisions are being made. It may be wise for a company to assign someone to act as a secretary who will take notes of the activities taking place. Not only will this provide information for later review, but it will also enable the recall team to focus on managing the recall crisis.

Understanding Why

Here’s a chance for food companies to consider why a recall was required in the first place. Appropriate root cause analysis tools like the “5 Whys” not only help a company maintain continuous improvement, but they also enable a thorough investigation and understanding of the cause of the recall.

For example:

Why did a product recall occur?

A consumer found, and then a regulatory official confirmed, that the product contained undeclared milk allergens.

Why did the product contain undeclared milk allergens?

Careful review of the formulation, ingredients, and production records revealed that one of the sub-ingredients contained a milk ingredient, which was not declared on the label.

Why did the label not contain the milk ingredient in its listing?

A new ingredient had recently been approved for use in the product; however, the protocol to review the ingredient contents and label were not followed.

Why were written ingredient approval procedures not followed?

There was a supply shortage of the material and an urgency to use this new ingredient supply, and it was approved directly by senior management.

Why did senior management approve the new supply?

It was important to continue production, and the senior manager who was asked for the material approval was not aware of the current protocol to review allergen content against the label.