Recall news :(

So we all work diligently to ensure we've done all that we can to help ensure a safe and healthy food supply and then I read this incredibly disheartening article;

"This investigation, which reviewed 30 of 1,557 food recalls between 2012 and 2015, found that the FDA "did not always have an efficient and effective food-recall process that ensured the safety of the nation's food supply."

I find the bigger issue to be why does a food company WAIT until the FDA does the contact - you know they (the food company) know it already and what they are waiting to figure out how much money and how much bad press can they get while they wait for the FDA to do something.

I had a client years ago that walked in to the conference and said you (meaning me) feel free to rack these people over the coals as need be.... I was auditing and consulting that week...

He went on to say that he had food company that identified a major issue and acted on it on the spot - they knew it was not caused by them, however it was caused by a supplier, but the recall costs and effects wiped the company out and they went out of business and he said it was the best thing to do - even knowing that it would cost them millions 1 person sick, 1 person died was way too much to wait on the FDA to do something.

So, here was a good man with a new food company and he has been a warrior for food safety since.

I agree wholeheartedly Glenn, and he should be given commendation for his actions!!

I have a three fold issue

1) Companies are putting profits before people time after time

2) The FDA really shouldn't give two hoots about the financial cost to the company, that statement in this article turns my stomach and makes me so frustrated trying to do this job well

3) I worked for a company that had a massive recall, and watched and learned when they did the right thing, without government prompting!!

What sad, is here we are reading this, but we're probably the only part of the food biz that cares

And really, i find it appalling that the FDA never had the power to issue a recall?????  REALLY

I worked for a food company - seafood processing. The management had just completed an audit where traceability was one of the NC's. 

Management reply was a risk assessment where traceability was marked as low risk.

Traceability failure triggered the risk assessment, and then, the company declares it as low risk?  IMHO both are alarming, company that thinks failing traceability is ok and the auditor who accepted a risk assessment with traceability as a low risk.

I tried to educate. The company was mixing & reworking on products so haphazardly that each final product can be traced back to bit and pieces of months of shipments and production. If ever faced with a recall, they will have to recall the entire production that traces back to six-seven months. 

The answer I got: What is the possibility of Recall? What does the historical stats say? Never till date.

So putting profit above people is old, now it's putting convenience over people too.

I still argue that governments needs more teeth no less. Then I hear that the canal in Arizona was responsible for that e coli romaine lettuce recall wasn't tested until early June 2018....um NO ONE THOUGHT TO TEST THE WATER!!!!!!!!??????? Not even the FDA? Seriously, grab an intern and send em out!

Never mind that those operators are supposed to test that water (if they are running GAP at least) routinely throughout the season.....every story like this one makes me so angry!