All Farm Base

Recall and Withdrawal Procedures

The recall program is the safety net that prevents consumers from obtaining an adulterated or potentially harmful product. The very survival of a farming business may depend on how well and how quickly it can respond to the first notice that a product recall may be necessary. Product recalls are certainly expensive, but attempting them without adequate planning can be much more costly.

Recall and Withdrawal Procedures

Producers are required to have documented procedures in place to manage recall or withdrawal of certified products from the market place. These procedures shall be tested annually for effectiveness and this may include a mock recall test. (AF8.1)

The procedures should include:

In order to conduct a product recall / withdrawal, producers are required to have a forward traceability system in place that determines the client the produce was sold to. (See also CB 1, LB 3.2 and AB 5.1.2)

Question (QQAF049)
The CB inspector wants to evaluate the recall procedure of the producer. The producer indicates that he hasn’t had any problems up to now, and so has not yet performed a recall. Is this acceptable?
Yes, if the producer has never had any reason to conduct a recall, there is no reason to inspect this point.
No, the producer must at least test the recall system annually and supply supporting documents from actual production and sales figures.
Yes, if the producer has a documented procedure on what he will do in case of an actual recall.
Question (QQAF050)
A producer has conducted a mock recall. The only evidence he can supply is the description of the product selected, the date the product was packed, and the event that lead to its “recall”. Is this sufficient evidence for the CB inspector to conclude that the mock recall was effective?
Yes
No
Correct!
Incorrect!

A documented recall procedure must exist and a mock test must be done at least annually to certify that the system is in place and it has been tested.

Correct!
Incorrect!

It is important that the producer can also demonstrate how effective his mock recall was e.g. by calculating what percentage of the product could be traced. E.g. if he packs 100 cartons of grapes on a specific day but can only trace 80 cartons of grapes to his direct clients, he is then missing 20 cartons of grapes that he cannot account for. This indicates only an 80% success rate. The producer also needs to show how he traced the cartons and this procedure must be in line with the written procedure that will be followed in case of a REAL recall. This is an example of how stock can be reconciled.