Food for Thought - You Can't Afford NOT to Have a Food Recall Plan

Threats to food safety are among the most serious risks to food and beverage processors today. We have seen how they impact operations, reputation and profitability –and how one bad recall can instantly destroy customer loyalty.

Given recent recall events, having an updated and relevant food recall plan is no longer a choice. If your operation or your supply chain has a problem, a multi-faceted recall plan is vital in ensuring you can properly respond.

In updating your plan, it’s important to work with a professional who can help you answer some very important questions and do a risk assessment. To determine whether or not your plan is relevant, I suggest to food processors to ask themselves these top ten questions:

1. How would you handle a disruption to your business?
2. Have you considered the consequences of not having a documented food safety plan (in terms of liabilities and your future plans)?
3. Do you understand the magnitude of the impact a food recall could have on your business and brand, both in financial terms and to your reputation?
4. Can you financially withstand the downtime caused by a recall?
5. Have you calculated the effect of lost customer confidence and the reduction in profit?
6. Do you have a contingency plan to maintain operations in the event of a significant disruption?
7. Have you put controls in place to keep food secure throughout the supply chain?
8. Have you identified areas of high risk or possible points of weakness or failure?
9. Do you have a plan to mitigate or prevent these risks?
10. In the event something does go wrong, do you have a crisis communication plan?

After answering these questions, we can customize our product recall services to your needs and integrate into your overall business plan and operations. Our product recall services include:

• Reviewing your existing food recall plans
• Assessing your areas of risk
• Analyzing the impact a recall could have
• Creating an emergency response plan
• Planning for your business’s recovery in the event of a disruption
• Designing a crisis communication plan

In today’s interconnected global food environment, it’s more important than ever to be prepared to anticipate, mitigate and respond to real risks and perceived threats. If you don’t have an updated product recall plan, it’s time to work with a professional to get it ready so that you can protect your customers , your business and your reputation.