Food Recall in Supply Chain

Food recalls are classified under the following categories

 Microbial contamination
 Labeling
 Foreign matter
 Chemicals or other contaminants
 Undeclared allergens
 Biotoxin
 Others
Primary objectives of Food recalls
1. Stop the distribution and sale of product as soon as possible
2. Inform the government, the food business that have received the recalled food and public
of the problem
3. Effectively and efficiently remove the unsafe food form the market
Legal requirements
A food business engaged in wholesale supply, manufacturing and importation of food must
1. Have a in place system for the recall of unsafe food
2. Set out this system in a written document and make this document available to the
authorized officer on demand
3. Comply with this system when recalling unsafe food
Initiation
 Commonwealth minister has the power to order a recall of food when there is serious
public health and safety risk exists
 Recall action may be taken as a result of the food business’s own verification/testing of
product or from the reports the food business received from wholesaler, retailer, govt.
agency or consumer which gives them reason to believe a product they have supplied is
unsafe
The Process
Step 1: Notify territory food enforcement agency where the business head office is located
Step 2: obtain all necessary information about the product
Step 3: Determine the level of recall
Step 4: Notify the trade customer and public about the recall of product
Step 5: Physically retrieve the unsafe food from the supply chain and remove from sale
Step 6: Dispose of unsafe food
Step 7: Monitor the effectiveness of recall
Step 8: Follow Record keeping procedures
Step 9: report on recall, including the action taken to prevent the recurrence of problem

Distributor responsibilities
 Comply with the direction of supplier in relation to recalled food
 Remove the recalled food from the supply chain
 Return, destroy or hold the recalled food
 Contact businesses, they have sold the recalled food to and explain what actions need to
be taken in relation to recalled food
Retailer responsibilities
 Remove the recalled food from sale and ensure it is held separated from safe food and
properly identified
 Comply with the direction of supplier and distributor in relation to recalled food
 Accept returns of recalled food from consumer and issue refunds
State responsibilities
 Provide advice on whether a food product should be recalled and help in assessing the
food safety issue
 Advice the supplier how recalled food to be collected, disposed of and corrective actions
needed
 Monitor the effectiveness of food recalls in their state
Local Govt. responsibilities
 Check that the local food businesses have removed the recalled food from market
 Monitor the disposal of recalled food including; oversee the destruction of food and issue
a statement that the food product has been destroyed
 Report back to state if required
Reason for recall
 Presence of pathogenic bacteria e.g. Salmonella
 Chemical contamination
 Foreign matter contamination like metal piece or glass
 Labeling errors
 Undeclared allergens like milk, peanut
 Any packaging defect
 Under processing resulting in unsafe food
 Due to some quality defects like color, texture

Level of recall
There are 2 levels of recall i.e. trade level recall and consumer level recall
1. A trade level recall is conducted when food has been available for direct purchase by
public like food sold to wholesaler and caterers
2. A consumer level recall is conducted when food has been available for retail sale

Information required
The retailer or distributor should provide following detail for the recall of product
 Product manufacture’s name and contact details
 Product detail including name, date marking, package size and description
 An image of product or product package
 Nature of problem
 Result of any testing undertaking and quantity of batch manufactured and date and
amount released
Notifying public
A written recall notice needs to contain following information
 Product description
 Where the product has been sold
 The problem
 Food safety hazard
  What to do
 Contact details

References:
Smith, P G and Merritt, G M (2002) Proactive Risk Management, Productivity Press, New York.

Spekman, R E and Davis, E W (2004) Risky business: expanding the discussion on risk and the
extended enterprise, International Journal of Physical Distribution & Logistics Management, 34
(5), pp 414–33

Peck, H (2006) Reconciling supply chain vulnerability, risk and supply chain management,
International Journal of Logistics: Research and Applications, 9 (2), pp 127–42; Peck, H (2005)
Drivers of supply chain vulnerability: an integrated framework, International Journal
 The Importance of HR in Supply Chain Management
HR should play an active role in every sector that involves employee management.
How HR Impacts Your Company’s Supply Chain
While business owners may be concerned whether their supply chain is sustainable or low-cost,
HR teams should look at the people manning their supply chain team to increase productivity.
1. HR is Responsible for Hiring
If HR department is directly responsible for staffing the supply chain management team, then
they need the right onboarding process to complete this task. Everything from printing out
the required paperwork for new hires to training staff needs to be streamlined to be effective.
With the right team, customer satisfaction and organizational performance will increase, whereas
an unqualified member of staff could cause missed deliveries or product shortages.
2. HR May be Responsible for Supply Chain Workers’ Conditions
The Rana Plaza tragedy in 2013 caused thousands of factory workers to lose their lives. There’s
simply no excuse for employers to support poor working conditions in the third world. HR team
can be used to research international supply chains to ensure correct employee treatment.
Remember that it isn’t the name of the supplier that people remember when something goes
wrong, it’s the name of the company being supplied.
3. HR Can Create Partnerships Between Suppliers and Employees
Employers that have a direct impact on their supply chain must understand the importance of a
strategic partnership between suppliers and organizations and between employees. Those hired
need to know how to analyze a situation and make appropriate judgments based on data.
HR departments should hire candidates that want to help their organization reach its goals. The
staff should favor long-term partnerships over short-term profits and gains. Startups that focus on
long-term partnerships are less likely to experience difficulties, such as product shortages, supply
chain disruptions, and unhappy customers who are affected by late deliveries.
4. HR Needs to Extend its Supply Chain to Avoid Dependence
Most companies depend on multiple partners and services to keep their supply chain strong, but
can’t rely on one organization for your supplies. The right talent will know how to operate within
a symbiotic relationship while also having the forethought to expand their supply chain.
 HR should make sure that the people operating their supply chain are able to meet regulatory
compliances, either through experience or by possessing the right skills. If you’re unsure of an
applicant, ask them to perform their duties as a part of a training test run.
5. HR Must be Transparent to Build Trusting Relationships
No supply chain can exist within a bubble; it relies on multiple steps, people, and processes to
succeed. For this reason, HR needs to be transparent with staff in order to be trustworthy. At the
same time, HR should hire staff who can gain people’s trust and easily formulate connections.
Supply chains are dependent on coordination, so HR needs to listen to feedback if they want to
improve the onboarding process, encourage joint planning, and reduce supply chain risks. Hire
team players that value the opinions of others and are capable of handling constant criticism.
6. HR Should do Their Part to Protect Organizational Confidentiality
HR must play its part to protect specialized assets, proprietary information, and other sensitive
factors that need to be maintained. If HR hires the wrong staff, there’s a possibility that your
partners will face monetary and reputational losses.
Consider background checks if you’re concerned that a new hire could sabotage you by leaking
information. However, proper training and vetting can eliminate untrustworthy candidates.
7. HR Can Coordinate Interdependence Between Departments
There are three examples of interdependence found in a supply chain. Pooled interdependence
refers to teams that can function without guidance, sequential interdependence includes
processes that must be done sequentially, and reciprocal interdependence requires a lot of back
and forth. Here’s what each interdependence example looks like in most supply chains:

 Pooled Interdependence: If an assembly line has multiple employees that work alone to
assemble a single product (radio), you’re conducting pooled interdependence. This practice is
found in sales teams who pool their numbers together to reach a shared goal.
 Sequential Interdependence: If an assembly line assembles a radio in a specific order, with or
without guidance, the practice is considered sequential interdependence. Sales teams who use a
step-by-step process to qualify clients are operating in a sequence.
 Reciprocal Interdependence: If an assembly line completes the radio out of order or fixes a
part of the radio at the end of the assembly line, you’re using reciprocal interdependence. Sales
teams that change their promotional materials or the head salesperson on a project after receiving
feedback are also utilizing this method.