A product recall... Whew.. you really don't want that on anyone. 😱 A recall is not only very annoying for your customers, but also a costly and time-consuming affair for your company. And it can seriously damage your company's image. So be prepared.
The annual number of recalls seems to continue to increase, despite all the strict safety requirements for manufacturers and retailers.
But what exactly is a product recall? What do you have to do during a recall? And more importantly: how can you prevent a recall? Let's start at the beginning.
A recall means that your products that have already been delivered to consumers recalls because the product unsafe is. We'll explain exactly what “unsafe product” means later. Back to the recall. ➡️
A recall is also known as a recall, public recall, or recall.
A recall is not exactly the same as a product withdraw from the market. Discontinuing the product from the market takes place before you deliver the product to the consumer. This is also known as a silent recall whether withdrawal mentioned.
As soon as you know, as a company, you are obliged to sell products that are safe and to report unsafe products to the NVWA. The NVWA can impose a recall as a measure after a report or inspection. Companies that subsequently fail to (properly) carry out a recall can face heavy fines. The NVWA fines range from 525 euro to 820,000 euro, depending on the specific situation.
For example, an importer of food raw materials was fined almost 3.5 million euros by the NVWA in 2022.. The company had traded batches of grains, seeds and legumes that did not meet food safety requirements. There was no acute health risk.
According to the NVWA, an unsafe food is a prejudicial or a unsuited foodstuff:
In other words, a harmful food can be harmful to consumers' health directly or in the longer term. An unsuitable food is not suitable for consumption, but it is not necessarily harmful to health, such as a product that does not taste good.
According to the law, a non-food item is unsafe if, when used normally, it does not offer the safety that consumers can expect. Of course, products that do not comply with European safety regulations are also seen as unsafe.
If the packaging of a product is not safe, the product can also be considered unsafe. Consider, for example, the use of safe packaging material for food, but also the right information about ingredients or clear instructions.
For example, a major supermarket chain recently had to recall their own brand of vegetarian hamburgers. There was the wrong label on the packaging of the vegetarian hamburgers: the label of our own brand of meatballs in satay sauce. 😩 And the meatballs in satay sauce did not contain the allergen EGG, which was in the vegetarian hamburgers. So not safe for people with an egg allergy.
Allergen errors have been high on the list of causes for recalls for a few years. Think of the wrong label on a package, filling the wrong package or cross-contamination due to improper cleaning. In addition to allergen recalls, there are of course other reasons for recalls, such as:
😱 the possible presence of fungi or bacteria that are harmful to health, such as salmonella, Ochratoxin A, legionella, listeria, etc.
😱 too high levels of pesticides
😱 too high a value of certain substances, such as histamine
😱 wrong expiration date on the packaging
😱 small particles of plastic, glass or metal in food
😱 products that can catch fire when used
Carrying out a recall campaign properly is crucial, and not just to protect consumers. With a well-coordinated recall, you also limit costs and reputational damage to your company and prevent any fines from the NVWA. A checklist:
Producers, distributors or importers are obliged to inform the NVWA as soon as they know that a product they trade is unsafe. Producers and Retailers of food and animal feed are even required to report product incidents to the NVWA within 4 hours.
When collecting information for a product recall, consider: tracking codes, production date, delivery date, etc. Note: food and animal feed producers and retailers have been required to use an unsafe product since July 2022 within 4 hours able to track. This means that you must be able to indicate to the NVWA within 4 hours which suppliers you received the product from and which customers you delivered the product to.
Based on the information collected, you determine the extent of the recall. The more accurately you know which batch of raw materials has been incorporated into which product, the more precisely you can carry out a recall.
In order to properly carry out a recall, it is of course important to find out the cause of the problem.
Make sure that all employees within your organization, as well as external partners such as customers and suppliers, are quickly informed.
With a public warning, you inform consumers not to use or consume the product and to return it to the store or destroy it. This can be done, for example, via an advertisement in the newspaper or via the website.
Companies sometimes try to protect their reputation by keeping the recall story as small as possible. But transparency, sharing the right information on time, can actually contribute to a strong reputation. So feel free to use your social media channels or get the help of influencers to inform consumers about the recall.
Stop selling products. And check how many products are actually being returned or returned. The NVWA often also wants to have this information.
For certain standards, there is an obligation to report recalls. Consider, for example, food safety standards. Usually, you must report a recall to the certifying institution within 3 days.
Researching returned products can provide a lot of valuable information. This allows you to improve product safety and prevent future recalls.
Good preparation is half the work, not only to properly carry out recalls but also to prevent them or limit the damage. Make sure you record all steps for a product recall in a recall plan.
Also, set up an internal recall team of employees in various functions that can take immediate action when necessary. In addition, there are a few other steps you can take:
Did you know that many incidents and infections occur among suppliers? Know your supply chain. Know who produces your raw materials and/or ingredients and what their other activities are.
Does your liability insurance cover recall costs? Often not. Taking out additional recall coverage may be an option to cover the costs of any recall. Discuss this with your insurer or a legal advisor.
When you manage all your product data and artwork centrally, you can quickly gather all the information you need during a recall. In addition, an organized system also helps prevent errors in your products and product packaging. This way, you reduce the risk of recalls.
With Artwork Connect, you have control over your data and artwork and thus over your products and packaging process. Labels with incorrect allergen information are then really a thing of the past. Want more info? Feel free to schedule a free call with us.
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