According to Stericicle ExpertRECALL, a company specialising in helping manufacturers deal with managing consumer product, pharmaceutical, medical device, juvenile product, and food and beverage recalls, food recalls documented by the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration of the USA) during the fourth quarter of 2012 reached a two year quarterly high.
This activity represents an average rate of approximately six food recalls being documented every day in the fourth quarter, affecting some 18.4 million products, more than double the units affected in the previous quarter.
Of the recalled food products announced during the fourth quarter, 94 percent fell within the Class I designation as the units could cause serious health consequences or death. 165 of those recalls were related to issues stemming from a plant processing nut products. Salmonella concerns were the number one cause of food recalls followed by undeclared allergens or other allergen concerns.
“The fourth quarter increase in food recalls is due in large part to the many products affected by a single ingredient supplier, in this case a peanut butter supplier,” said Joseph A. Levitt, a partner in the Hogan Lovells law firm and a former director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, referring to the string of Sunland recalls that started on September 24, 2012. “This also reflects increased vigilance by both food companies and FDA to identify problems before people get sick and recall affected products promptly. Such vigilance will only increase as FDA moves to implement the new Food Safety Modernization Act.”
“Right before FDA’s announcement of two major requirements proposed under the Food Safety Modernization Act, the agency documented 552 food recalls, representing a 33 percent increase over the previous quarter and reaching the highest level of recall activity in more than two years,” said Mike Rozembajgier, vice president of recalls at Stericycle ExpertRECALL. “As the agency continues to shift its focus towards prevention rather than simply reacting to foodborne illness outbreaks, we can expect the FDA to pay more attention to what companies are doing to ensure our food is safe and prevent recalls from occurring. Companies with a recall plan that is ready are likely to best weather the impending storm of increased regulatory scrutiny.”
