A Recall Supply Chain Is Only As Strong As Its Weakest Link
02-04-2010
By Willie Bryant
Your recall plan is only the start of recall preparedness. In today’s complex and transparent world, you need to know in advance about many other variables if you are to implement a successful food recall. Increasingly, individual ingredients like spices, dairy products, nuts or dried fruits are cause for recall of a finished, branded product.
It’s vital that you know exactly who supplies the ingredients used in your products. Conversely, who uses your product as an ingredient? Are you absolutely certain all ingredients are safe from the beginning of the supply chain to the end? Do you know whether your suppliers have recall plans in place? At a minimum, you must make sure the companies you deal with have recall procedures in place to ensure effectiveness throughout the recall process.
Just as you require your employees to understand their individual roles and responsibilities when managing a recall, you must require your suppliers to know their roles during a recall and to be prepared to provide the necessary records and information that can help trace the possible source of a contaminant quickly and efficiently. Likewise, you must prepare in advance to assist your retailers in tracing products and ingredients and to provide them with real-time information when a recall goes into effect and they’re facing angry and confused consumers.
As a start, here is a checklist of what you need to have in place right now:
- Do you have a comprehensive list of all your suppliers with their contact information?
- Do all your suppliers have a recall plan in place?
- Are your suppliers prepared to notify you quickly in the event of a recall?
- Have you rehearsed your crisis plan, including notification of suppliers and retailers?
- Do you have contact information for regulatory attorneys and an experienced crisis communications agency at hand?
- Do you have contact information for a company that provides recall logistics and call centers?
It is reasonable to require your suppliers to have recall plans in place so that you are synchronized when the crisis occurs. Putting them on alert also mitigates the risk that your suppliers will fail to alert you of recalls in a timely fashion.
When a particular ingredient is determined to be the cause of a recall, it is critically important that the ingredient’s manufacturer alert other food manufacturers, companies and consumers who have direct contact with that ingredient. This is another reason suppliers must have recall plans in place – to ensure that the ingredient is removed from the marketplace, regardless of the degree of direct accessibility to the consumer. You can never tell when a seemingly unrelated food recall will force you to recall your product – all because of a single ingredient.
Stericycle ExpertRECALL™ is the industry leader in recall logistics and regulatory compliance for consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls. ExpertRECALL’s professionals are experts in recall management who can help you streamline the entire product recall process.
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