WYou identified a potential safety issue with your product and conducted an investigation. You worked closely with your regulator to plan for and execute a recall. Your team worked tirelessly to communicate with consumers and fix the issue. Then the regulator closed the recall. And you moved on. Or so you thought. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration recently launched separate investigations into whether two GM recalls conducted years ago were inadequate.
Continue ReadingPA swift and thorough product recall is the best way to mitigate any legal liability risk from a defective product, removing inventory from the market before problems become pervasive. But in many cases, product defects or dangers aren’t discovered until after harm has occurred and liability cannot be avoided. Product liability laws enable consumers to sue those parties responsible when a product causes property damage, injury or death.
Continue ReadingSleeplessness is a common malady of business leaders whose companies have had to undergo a product recall. When a recall hits home, how well a company prepares for and manages the recall requirements can mean the difference between preserving customer loyalty and severely damaging the brand reputation, or even worse…sink a business entirely. Anxiety levels spike throughout the company as leaders brace for bad publicity, lower earnings, lost market share, legal liability, or a host of other unwanted outcomes.
Continue ReadingIn October, the FDA released new draft guidance for the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) on how to meet its seven key rules for ensuring the safety of our food supply. A month later, the nation was hit with yet another major food-borne outbreak – E. coli-contaminated romaine lettuce that killed five and sickened hundreds of consumers across 36 states.
Continue ReadingWhile recalls vary widely in their scope and impact, the truth is that there really are no small recalls. When it comes to brand reputation and consumer perception, the scale of a recall often doesn’t matter. One negative media report or one simple mistake can turn a small, seemingly manageable event into a much larger problem. To truly protect their brands, companies need to be prepared for a recall of any size.
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