Wisdom for Your Next Mock Recall

With increased visibility into the supply chain, you may assume recalls are decreasing, however, according to the Stericycle Recall Indexrecalls have risen overall since 2012. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that one ingredient may affect multiple finished products. According to a NY Times article, experts attest that more product recalls point to a public safety mindset and better detection tools in the supply chain.

At QWerks, we focus on the prevention of recalls and live by a proactive mantra to help maximize food safety. In this blog we’d like to hone in on how to make both recalls and mock recalls more effective. Over the past few months our team has gained a wealth of knowledge from experts in the field; here are some major takeaways.

Are your mock recalls performed correctly?

We all know mock recalls are an important exercise for every business, but the only way they will be truly effective is if you carry out the steps with the same seriousness as an actual recall. This includes calling your suppliers to ensure that phone numbers and contacts are correct, documenting every action that is taken, and testing all procedures you have in place to verify that everyone on the team knows what to do. Look at your process from start to finish: if your mock recall takes less than 15 minutes you may just be performing a trace-back exercise. Think about each action you would perform if you had a real recall and make sure that your plan captures this information and your team can carry out the recall successfully.

Who’s on your crisis team?

A proper team should include the CEO and decision makers who can respond quickly and efficiently when a crisis occurs. Many brands consider using a crisis communications expert to aid in managing the media and their customers. In addition, a successful recall communication plan could help regain more than 30% of consumers who make brand decisions on a case by case basis according to a recall study by InMar from 2014. In general, a tailored approach to your recall is going to be more successful for the business in the long run.

What’s your process?

Keep it simple with three steps: 1) close process gaps, 2) test for success, and 3) continuously improve.

Closing The Gap

Performing an internal analysis and readiness assessment is the first step in identifying gaps in your recall process. Be sure to include the roles, responsibilities, procedures, and tools available to the team in the scope of the gap assessment.

Test for Success

To ensure success, you must test your process earnestly. Testing different parameters, such as forced and voluntary recalls, ensures that everything is working. Document the parts in the process that are unclear or need additional attention. After the tests are complete, get to work addressing those issues and retest on a regular basis. We suggest performing a mock recall at least twice per year, and especially after major changes to a process or supplier.

Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement is the final step. As regulations and customer demands change it’s important to stay ahead of the curve with training, audits, and analytics to drive improvements. A recall can be devastating for consumers as well as businesses. As stated in our last recall blog, no business expects to be a part of the next recall; that’s why it’s vital to have a process you can count on and tools in place to prevent recalls from happening.

At QWerks we aim to provide a paperless solution that helps you stay ahead of the curve in quality and risk management. Find out how QWerks can help solve your challenges at https://www.getqwerks.com/howitwerks