This article originally appeared in Modern Restaurant Magazine
We’re in an unusual time when troubled supply chains are suddenly top of mind for the average American: supply chain woes have become fodder for late-night television hosts, and countless headlines warn us that we should’ve started our holiday shopping yesterday. Discussion of supply chain complexities seems to have become as common as chatting about the weather.
Of course, the importance of healthy, functioning supply chains isn’t news to those in restaurant management – they are the lifeblood of the restaurant and food service industries.
Global and domestic supply chains are more complex and interdependent than ever, and while they offer consumer benefits like more choices, lower prices, and the year-round availability of many food items that were once only seasonal, the increasing number of moving pieces also adds more risk for product quality and food safety failures.
Product recalls, market withdrawals, and safety alerts are becoming more common, with over 1700 tracked by the FDA to date this year. It seems that every week brings the announcement of another recall while families across the country scramble to throw out their onions, lettuce, beef – whatever the latest announcement brings – and restaurants, too, launch into crisis control mode.
In 2018, there were a combined 656 FDA and USDA recalls, and there has been an 83 percent increase in Class 1 recalls of meat and poultry alone since 2013. These types of recalls directly impact customer satisfaction, and the average cost to a food company is $10 million dollars each time.
An effective recall strategy is imperative for protecting your customers’ health and your brand’s reputation. If you’re unprepared for a withdrawal or recall, you’re not only jeopardizing your customers’ well-being and your brand reputation, but you’re also setting yourself up to face significant economic and social consequences. The best way to mitigate that risk is knowing how to perform recalls effectively through quick action and effective communication – it keeps customers safe, retains brand trust, and protects your restaurant’s bottom line.
Creating an effective recall management plan is no small undertaking, and the process can feel daunting. The goal is to create a plan that quickly identifies impacted products, know where those products are in the supply chain, and know who to contact so that they can remove them. Your plan is generally going to involve steps, starting with an investigation to understand the full scope of the incident. Other initial actions may include “product holds” to keep any potentially unsafe food out of reach while further investigation occurs; notifying and alerting distributors and locations to remove product; and in some cases, informing the press and the public. Finally, your plan will include root cause analysis, corrective action, and credit or replacement product for your retail locations.
There are many more steps and best practices in between, making the entire process overwhelming for even smaller restaurant brands. Fortunately, there are new digital and automated strategies emerging that can help streamline product recalls and accelerate notifications to customers and supply chain partners. Here are a few of them:
Food and product recalls are a part of life in the restaurant world, and a necessary part of a system of food safety checks and balances that help keep your customers safe. Ultimately, you want to be prepared before a food or product recall happens and prior to any impact on your restaurants. Being proactive and having a plan will go a long way toward that and harnessing new digital and automated strategies can help you modernize your plan, allowing you to protect consumers and protect your restaurants to retain public trust.