Thought Leadership

It’s no surprise that notifying consumers directly about product recalls is the most effective way to get dangerous products out of circulation. What is surprising is how much more effective direct notifications are, and why manufacturers and retailers don’t use them more often. A study last year by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) found that recalls which employ direct notifications have a healthy response rate of about 50 percent.

In October, Canada became the first major economy, and second country, to legalize cannabis. While this policy shift will undoubtedly have consequences for consumers, law enforcement officials and others, it also presents new challenges for the cannabis manufacturers seeking to profit from what could be a $5 billion industry. As manufacturers compete for a limited number of licenses and confront an increased level of scrutiny, recall preparedness and a thorough understanding of regulatory requirements will be crucial to success.

Of all the factors that impact recall response rates, including age of the product, frequency of use, and price, direct notifications are the single greatest determiner. But that means consumer product manufacturers facing a recall need contact information, such as a home address, an email, or a phone number. Traditionally, that has meant that high product registration rates were necessary to facilitate these notifications.

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.

Many companies think that because they have a recall plan in place, they are ready for any recall that may occur, only to realize they are actually woefully unprepared when it actually happens. That typically points to one thing: the plan wasn’t nearly as robust as it needed to be. When it comes to recall preparation, having an outline of a plan isn’t much better than having no plan at all. Here are some of the signs a recall plan is inadequate. It’s shorter than the average obit.