“The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for protecting the public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, biological products, and medical devices; and by ensuring the safety of our nation’s food supply, cosmetics, and products that emit radiation (Source).”

What is a Food Recall?

A food recall is when a food producer takes a product off the market because there is reason to believe that it may cause consumers to become ill. In some situations, government agencies may request a food recall. Food recalls may happen for many reasons, including but not limited to:

• Discovery of organisms, including bacteria such as Salmonella or parasites such as Cyclospora.
• Discovery of foreign objects such as broken glass or metal.
• Discovery of a major allergen that does not appear on the product label.

Source: https://www.foodsafety.gov/recalls-and-outbreaks

Why Do Food Recalls Matter?

“Food recalls are most importantly a public health issue, but they are also significant economic issues. The average cost of a recall to a food company is $10M in direct costs, in addition to brand damage and lost sales according to a joint industry study by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association. However, the costs for larger brands may be significantly higher based on the preliminary recall costs reported by firms of some recent recalls.” A single product’s recall can lead to an entire industry to lose hundreds of millions as a whole.

Source: Recall: The Food Industry’s Biggest Threat to Profitability