Expert Recall

By Brian Giannini

In an effort to make the federal government more responsive and accessible to U.S. citizens, the government has made available to consumers a handful of mobile applications, including a recall application that gives consumers instant access to recall announcements and recall history.

This new mobile app makes USA.gov more user-friendly, giving consumers easy access to government services and information from most smart phones and other mobile devices. Just another reason why now more than ever it is critical for manufacturers and retailers to understand the impact on their business, including areas of recall management, recall effectiveness and recall compliance.

So how does the recall application work? Simply go to www.USA.gov, choose Product Recalls under the Mobile Apps section of the homepage. Then click on the mobile web button which will direct you to Recalls.gov. The mobile application provides recent recall information on consumer products, motor vehicles, boats, food, medicine, cosmetics and environmental products. 

The product recalls application compiles all current recall information from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Manufacturers and retailers must understand that trying to determine if an exact product has been recalled from a mobile device may be a challenge for some consumers. So having recall information available to consumers on the recall application could impact your entire brand more than you would like. Additionally, bar code scanning technology will soon be available with consumer’s mobile devices to allow a consumer to take a photo of a bar code from their mobile device and find out instantly if the product has been recalled.

The mobile application will enable consumers to have recall information at their fingertips and, most importantly, at the point of purchase. This may influence a consumer to change their purchase decision at the last minute when they use their mobile device to check for a particular manufacturer’s track record on recalled products. More expensive items may be in more danger since consumers are more likely to make the extra effort to research a brand name at the point of purchase before investing in the high-ticket item.

Manufacturers that are managing a recall will want to close it out faster so it doesn’t cause a decrease in sales of other non-recalled products with the same brand name. Manufacturers going through the recall process will also need to pay close attention to this mobile application and find ways to insure consumers that other products they manufacture are safe to buy.

Manufacturers also need to integrate social media efforts into this new mobile application.  Look to your Consumer Affairs department for ways they may already be using social media so that you can be proactive and use these increasingly popular platforms to inform consumers that your products are safe to purchase.
 
Manufacturers and retailers will also need to do a better job of making sure recalled products are pulled off the shelf within hours of a product recall notification. This new mobile application will enable consumers, reporters, attorneys and special interest groups to easily check for recalled products that are still on the shelf. You don’t want to have any more negative press than you may already have.  It may be time to re-evaluate your current recall notification processes and in store effectiveness checks to test the speed and accuracy of your recall system. After all, just one report about a recalled product on store shelves from a consumer using the mobile application could devastate your attempts to close out the recall and convince regulators of your recall compliance.

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.