Do’s and Don’ts of a Food Recall

Do communicate consistently.

More than 700 organizations, including the nation’s largest supermarket chains, have subscribed to Rapid Recall Exchange, a Web-based service launched in 2009 by the Food Marketing Institute, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, and GS1 US. This industry-developed service provides suppliers, retailers, and wholesalers with two-way communication to execute timely and accurate product recalls and market withdrawals.

Rapid Recall Exchange enables a company issuing a recall or market withdrawal to send trading partners critical product data plus handling and reimbursement instructions, along with other trading partner-specific information, within one notification. The system records when the notification was read and who opened the message at what time.

On the receiving end of the notification, recipients can relay this extensive data in a standardized format with images and attachments of additional documentation, such as a press release, all via the secure website. When they’ve completed the recall, they can inform the issuer, closing the loop.

Do stay prepared by running regular mock recalls.

Using a service like Rapid Recall Exchange, companies can more easily conduct mock recalls to stay vigilant. Regardless of how you conduct one, mock recalls help mitigate risk and measure your ability to react to an emergency event with as much precision as possible. It is widely recommended to conduct them at least quarterly, but some companies test less frequently (twice a year), depending on their specific products and manpower. This can be adjusted as mock recall reconciliation numbers improve or fail. A mock recall for a large global manufacturer can be conducted in as little as 30 minutes using today’s technology, or it could take place over the course of a few days for smaller companies. Make sure you clearly define your goals and objectives during the exercise, as they can be done to ensure the efficiency of a specific process and identify any suspected weaknesses. Mock recalls confirm that your company can trace products throughout the supply chain and evaluate the strength of your communications plan.

While staying proactive using standards-based processes, it’s also important to share some assumptions you should never make, which includes the following.

Don’t assume all batches must go to waste.

Whole-chain traceability procedures help reduce the unnecessary discard of product, whether it is through reduced shrink (e.g. when the wrong fresh foods are shipped and received, they are usually discarded) or in the event of a recall. A recent National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study revealed a whopping 40 percent of food available to Americans is discarded, and most of that uneaten food ends up rotting in landfills. While much of this is a result of consumer behavior after purchase, the retail grocery industry has an opportunity to pinpoint affected food in the event of a recall or withdrawal. The entire food supply chain can put more edible food onto American tables if whole-chain traceability programs are in practice. This massive amount of food waste is particularly glaring at a time when reportedly 50 million Americans go hungry every day and the general public has unprecedented access to food sustainability information.

Don’t underestimate the power of standards.

Mother Earth Mushrooms, LLC recently implemented a traceability program based on GS1 Standards. What once took hours of sifting through paper and deciphering handwriting now takes just a few minutes with the system reports that are available with just a few clicks.

“Improvements in our inventory management from implementing GS1 Standards for traceability have been huge. We used to go out and count everything on the floor every single night. Before we filled orders, we had to look in our cooler. It was exceedingly labor intensive and potentially inaccurate,” says Meghan Klotzbach, regulatory manager at Mother Earth.