Can't find our recall on the FDA Website
I just started working for an emerging brand, first QA member, and they claim to have had a recall in 2014. The product is a bottled water. However, it's not listed on the FDA site. It's not showing up with any keywords for either our company or the producer, not even a recall at all listed on the date they believe it was filed or around it. I can find a few grocery store notices but nothing official. They are in litigation and the lawyers are asking for a bunch of paperwork, some that we have, some not. Has anyone experienced this before? The FDA district rep has not been responding to my multiple requests for several weeks now - is there another way to get this documentation other than fda.gov?
They also co-pack all products at several bottlers and claim this was the co-packer's recall and not theirs. My co-manufacturing experience is that the brand receives the recall, typically the facility at fault covers the cost in the end.
Any insight?
Hi LKFS
My thinking is that the co-packer has informed the brand owner to conduct the recall but the brand owner (in this case you guys) did not inform the FDA and did not recall he product. It is possible that your company may decided to withdraw the product instead of conducting the recall. In such cases the brand owner do not need to inform the FDA and FDA will have no record for this incident.That is one of the reason why the FDA District Rep. is not responding to you call.
Depending on the issue and an assuming that issue may not be food safety but food quality the brand owner may decide to withdraw the product.
Le me know the issue which was the core reason for product recall/withdrawal and I may be able to help you further.
Kind regards
Dr Humaid Khan
MD Halal International Services
Beverly Hills
Thanks for the insight! It was for a food safety, they believed it was listed as class I at the time.
I assumed either it wasn't filed or was just a withdrawal also, but they had an FDA follow up visit shortly after the alleged recall. I would assume the FDA would have checked this at the time also! I'm stumped : )