Example Recall Procedure

XYZ Food Facility

Recall Procedure

Written By: Jeannie Niro

Code: SOP P7.2.1 Revision Date: Feb 10, 08

Who:

Recall Team

Position / Name / Work Phone / Home Phone
Recall Coordinator/Food Safety Coordinator / Jeannie Niro / 519-888-8888 / 519-555-6666
Owner/Alternate Recall Coordinator / Tom Hark / 519-888-8887 / 519-444-2222
Production Supervisor / Jim Stainton / 519-888-8886 / 416-222-3333
Shipping Supervisor / John McGuire / 519-888-8884 / 905-111-7777

When:

When the food safety coordinator is informed of a food safety complaint, adverse test result or there is a food safety incident in the facility

What:

  1. Initiate Recall

•The Recall Coordinator will assemble the Recall Team

•The Recall Coordinator will provide information regarding the affected product and corresponding lot code

•The Customer Complaint and Investigation Record will be shared with the Recall Team if applicable

•The Recall Team will assess the problem and make the decision to initiate a recall

•The Recall Coordinator is responsible for recording all activities in the recall log

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  1. Locate Affected Product

•The Production supervisor will determine from the production log:

  • The exact quantities of product produced under the affected lot code
  • Where the product was sent after production (e.g. finished product warehouse, in-process room, re-work, product on hold)

•If the product went to re-work, then the Production Supervisor will identify other lot codes that may be affected and determine the amounts produced and where they went

•All product in the “in-process” room will be immediately labelled with a yellow “HOLD” label and transferred to the designated storage area until a decision is made about its disposition (follow Hold Procedure SOP P3.2.1)

•The Shipping supervisor will determine:

  • How much product is still in the warehouse
  • How much product has been shipped
  • The contact information of all customers that the product was shipped to

•All affected product remaining in the warehouse will be immediately labelled with a yellow “HOLD” label and transferred to the designated storage area until a decision is made about its disposition

  1. Contact CFIA

•The Recall Coordinator will contact the CFIA Area Recall Coordinator for Ontario at 416-665-5049 (8h00 to 23h00)

•The following information will be provided to CFIA when reporting the recall:

  • A detailed description of the nature of the problem
  • The name, brand, size, lot code(s) affected
  • Details of complaints received and any reported illnesses
  • Who the product was distributed to
  • When the product was distributed (specific dates)
  • Label(s) of the product(s) to be recalled
  • The total quantity of affected product
  • The name and telephone number(s) of the Recall Coordinator (as the contact with CFIA)

•CFIA will assign a class to the recall based on risk of the product harming the general public:

  • Class I – life threatening (requires a news release)
  • Class II – not life threatening:
  • Class III – not likely to result in any health consequences
  1. Contact Customers

•All affected customers will be contacted by the Shipping Supervisor. Their contact information can be obtained from the Customer Log in the Shipping supervisor’s office.

  • Immediate notification is done by telephone first, and
  • Then, a Notice of Recall is sent by e-mail or fax confirming the recall situation and including all the details of the recall
  • Confirmation of notification must be received from all customers by e-mail or fax. If this is not received, a second telephone call is required.

•Provide customers with the following information:

  • An explanation for the recall
  • Accurate information on the product being recalled (i.e. product description and lot code)
  • Clear instructions on what to do with the affected product (e.g. isolate and hold it, return it to the facility)
  1. Account for All Affected Product

•Once confirmation has been received from all affected customers:

  • Ensure that the quantities of affected product received by each customer match the shipping records at the facility
  • Ensure that all customers have located all affected product
  • Ensure that all customers isolate all affected product to prevent it from reaching consumers

•The sum of affected product remaining in the facility and the product at each of the customers’ warehouses should be the same as the total amount of product manufactured. If it is less, go back to Step 2, determine the location of the missing product and proceed to notify customers or place product on “HOLD” if still within the facility.

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  1. Control Affected Product

•The Recall Coordinator will conduct a food safety assessment to determine if the product can be tested and re-worked

  • If the product can be re-used, the Recall Coordinator will communicate the decision to the Production and Shipping supervisors
  • The Shipping Supervisor will retrieve product from customers
  • If the result of the food safety assessment or the lab results indicate that the product must be destroyed,
  • A red “To Be Destroyed” label must be placed on all skids of affected product
  • The Recall Team will determine the location to where all affected product must be taken to be destroyed
  • The Shipping Supervisor will contact all affected customers and notify them about the procedure to follow for the disposal of product
  • The Recall Coordinator will ensure that all affected product that was accounted for is destroyed under the direction of the CFIA
  1. Recall Investigation

•The Recall Coordinator is responsible for recording any instances of injuries and or illnesses due to the recalled products

•The Food Safety Coordinator will conduct a root cause analysis and will ensure appropriate corrective actions are taken to prevent the problem from recurring

Deviations:

/

Corrective Actions:

The Production Supervisor was not available at the start of the recall /
  • Contact the Production Supervisors back-up

Not all product remaining in the facility could be located /
  • Stop production, production Manager to review all production logs and have all lead-hands involved until product is located.

Records:

  • RCD P7.2.1 Recall and Mock Recall Record
  • RCD P7.2.2 Customer Complaint Record
  • RCD P7.2.3 Notice of Recall

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