How to run a product recall as a small producer

Before anything happens

• Keep your traceability records current. A recall is only as precise as your records.
• Have your customers' contact details to hand, including an out of hours number for the bigger ones.
• Know who your competent authority is and how to reach them. In Ireland that's the FSAI and your local Environmental Health Office; in the UK, the FSA and your local authority.
• Agree who in the business makes the call to recall. In a small business that's usually the owner, but say so.

When a problem comes to light

1. Stop. Quarantine any affected stock still on your premises so it can't be sold.
2. Identify the scope. Trace the affected ingredient lot forwards, or the affected batch backwards, to list every batch involved and every customer who received product from them. With SmartTrace the system produces this report for you in seconds; with paper, start now and be thorough.
3. Decide: withdrawal or recall. A withdrawal removes product from the supply chain before it reaches consumers. A recall also asks consumers to return or dispose of it. If product could be unsafe and has reached the public, it's a recall.
4. Notify the authority. You're required to inform them without delay if you believe food you've placed on the market may be unsafe. They'll help you with the wording and reach of any public notice.
5. Contact every customer on the list. Tell them what, which batch codes, what to do with it, and how you'll credit them. Keep a record of who you told and when.
6. Trace the cause. Was it an ingredient lot (tell your supplier), a process step, or a labelling error? Fix it before you make the next batch.
7. Write it up. Keep the trace, the notifications and the corrective action together. The inspector will ask, and your insurer may too.

Why precision matters

A producer with good records recalls three batches and credits four customers. A producer without them recalls everything made that fortnight and credits everyone. The food cost is the smaller loss; the confidence of your customers is the larger one.

If you'd like your records in a state where step two takes a minute, this is how SmartTrace traces a lot.