Recall due to foreign object in rice

Hi all,

I found 2 metal wires (~1cm long) from different batches of rice under different expiry date. 1 wire found in last shipment and another one found in recently shipment. Pleaes advise if I should raise a voluntery recall. Thank you.

Big Kid

Hi all,

I found 2 metal wires (~1cm long) from different batches of rice under different expiry date. 1 wire found in last shipment and another one found in recently shipment. Pleaes advise if I should raise a voluntery recall. Thank you.

Big Kid

You should certainly notify the manufacturer so they can check their production lot retain samples to see if they see the same thing. Also they will need your samples sent to them so they can match them up with wires in the plant to see if they can determine where they could have been introduced into the food manufacturing system.

You can certainly make them aware of the situation but it will be their decision if they will conduct a voluntary recall. My suggestion is to take a picture of the wires and the box codes showing production lot, times, and expiration dates together so you have some evidence in the event they do not conduct a recall and your local or federal authorities need evidence of improper food manufacturing.

The manufacturer will need what you have in hand but you should always keep copies of something this dangerous in food safety.

FoodManu

Hi all,

I found 2 metal wires (~1cm long) from different batches of rice under different expiry date. 1 wire found in last shipment and another one found in recently shipment. Pleaes advise if I should raise a voluntery recall. Thank you.

Big Kid

Dear Big Kid,

I presume you are the receiver of a shipment(s) which has (somehow) already been onward utilised. ?

It may well depend on the exact situation, eg direct to retail or ?

Rgds / Charles.C

Hi Charles,

Yes, 80% of stock for these two lots have been re-direct to various retailers. That's why I am wonder if I should do so because the wire is highly visible without rusting and this is only 2 wires found in 3000kg of rice. What do you think? Pleaes advise. Thank you.

Regards,
Big kid

Dear Big Kid,

I presume you are the receiver of a shipment(s) which has (somehow) already been onward utilised. ?

It may well depend on the exact situation, eg direct to retail or ?

Rgds / Charles.C

The EU law is pretty clear I forget the exact wording but if food is unsafe or the supplier has 'reason to believe' it is unsafe, a recall or withdrawal must take place.


Whether every EU company would recall or withdraw in this situation, I'm not sure. What I would suggest though is undertaking a risk assessment. What kind of wire is it? Is it hard, flexible? What is it made out of? These two questions may assist you to make a decision on whether to recall. The fact it is highly visible might help, however, only you can make that decision.



There doesn't seem to have been much thought as to how it got there and how it wasn't picked up by metal detection? Ok, starting with the second point first; have you tried the contaminants through your metal detector? One issue could be depending on the orientation it might not detect. So if you imagine the flow of products from left to right on this screen, if the contaminant was vertical, it would be easier to pick up than if it were horizontal. That said, if there was a major contamination issue at the time of packing you would have had some rejected I would think? Worth checking back in the records to see if that was the case.



Secondly as one of the PP said, I would contact the supplier.



Thirdly, consider changing your supply, at least for the short term. I had a similar issue once with glass in some American Long Grain so we switched to Basmati (with the support of the customer) and then to European Long Grain. Another factory didn't and ended up with a huge public recall because the contamination continued. If you don't know the cause, at least limit your exposure.

Dear Big Kid,

Unfortunately, it is difficult to advise on such cases without knowing all the surrounding details, eg historical, local legislation, sampling, etc.

Nonetheless, if it is considered that a “significant” safety risk to a consumer exists, there is obviously an immediate responsibility to act accordingly. (Usually such aspects are also included [quantified?] in yr contractual supplier specifications, eg in the context of grounds for lot rejection / claims.)

Deciding what constitutes "significant" is not always simple as demonstrated in numerous haccp plans. One (impartial) route to initially assess your specific situation could perhaps be by determining the (local) conclusion if an official inspection of the lot had made an equivalent finding. ?

Rgds / Charles.C

I'd start with a few of the basics - Is it acceptable? was it a result of an internal handling issues? and what has changed?
1. what was the quantity (Kg etc) received and is this percentage of FM acceptable for this product - I'm sure there is a standard for FM in rice
2. Was the FM a result of internal handling
3. Could the FM be a result of transportation issues
4. how many shipment per year do you get form this supplier, and have you seen this FM in previous lots received, consecutive intermittent?
5. How close together were the FM's found
6. follow the recommendations of the previous poster -
7. methodical investigation, document as you go, provide feedback to all connected, Raise an internal NC and up the inspection level for all product received from this supplier.
once completed then update HACCP etc and other files as required, and close NC

Deciding what constitutes "significant" is not always simple as demonstrated in numerous haccp plans. One (impartial) route to initially assess your specific situation could perhaps be by determining the (local) conclusion if an official inspection of the lot had made an equivalent finding. ?

Rgds / Charles.C

That is a very good point. In the UK thinking "what would an EHO do?" is a pretty good idea. It is not beyond the realms of possibility of using government officials for advice. Obviously bear in mind that once you talk to the equivalent of an EHO the cat is out of the bag but if that official then demands for a recall, then any other response would have been the wrong one anyway. Worth considering but get the brand owner / boss on board first.

Hi Charles,

Yes, 80% of stock for these two lots have been re-direct to various retailers. That's why I am wonder if I should do so because the wire is highly visible without rusting and this is only 2 wires found in 3000kg of rice. What do you think? Please advise. Thank you.

Regards,
Big kid

conduct a risk assessment based on frequency of occurrence and consequence, see the attached document BASED on SQF this may help you decide what to do, generally a number between 1-10 would imply it should be a CCP and therefore should notify customers or risk. Can you sift what you have in stock to determine if there is more, this would give you a better idea of scale and the likelihood the stuff already sent is contaminated... Do yuou have an in-house CFIA inspector which can guide you a little
Good luck

conduct a risk assessment based on frequency of occurrence and consequence, see the attached document BASED on SQF this may help you decide what to do, generally a number between 1-10 would imply it should be a CCP and therefore should notify customers or risk. Can you sift what you have in stock to determine if there is more, this would give you a better idea of scale and the likelihood the stuff already sent is contaminated... Do yuou have an in-house CFIA inspector which can guide you a little
Good luck

OOPs forgot to attach the document

Thx for the info

Thx Katja for the info.