Thought Leadership

With about nine new product recalls announced every day in the U.S., ensuring consumers are able to keep up with them, identify the products in their own homes, and take action to protect themselves and their families is one of the greatest challenges stakeholders face. Now, in an effort to “help consumers more quickly and accurately recognize recalled product,” the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued

Our Q2 2018 Recall Index found that recall activity in the food space increased in Q2, especially when it came to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) food units, which rose more than 20 times over the previous quarter to nearly 213 million, mostly due to one large recall of salmonella-contaminated eggs. But other measurements also saw increases. It may come as a surprise, but those increases did not include the widely-publicized romaine lettuce issue.

There are dozens of food recalls issued every quarter in the U.S. alone. But despite the frequency of food recalls, there are a number of aspects many people – even industry leaders – may not realize. When consumers become ill, they typically think of the last food they consumed. But actually, it can take a couple of days for illness to begin. It can take even longer for medical personnel to determine the cause and report it to the proper authorities – sometimes weeks.

Foreign materials caused just over 10 percent of FDA food recalls in 2016, and only about two percent of recalled units. While the amount is small compared to other common causes, the impact may be disproportionately large. From a consumer perspective, a food safety issue such as an undeclared allergen is a major concern – if you have the allergy in question. While some are affected greatly, others are unaffected. That’s not the case with foreign matter contamination.

At a recent Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) event, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) representative spoke about the agency’s push for pathogen testing in food products. A combination of more sophisticated testing and more aggressive regulatory enforcement has helped drive up contamination recall activity in the food sector in recent quarters.