Food recalls
Current food recalls
Consumer level recalls are published by Food Standards Australian New Zealand via their website, and through social media channels.
What is a food recall?
A food recall is action taken to remove from distribution, sale and consumption, food which is unsafe. This means food that may cause illness or other physical harm to a person consuming the food. A food recall may occur:
- because of a report or complaint from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, government or consumers
- as a result of a food business conducting internal testing and auditing.
The three primary objectives of a food recall are to:
- stop the distribution and sale of the product as soon as possible
- inform the government, the food businesses that have received the recalled food and the public (for consumer level recalls only) of the problem
- remove unsafe product from the marketplace.
A recall notification regarding a product sold from a food business will have details regarding the product affected (e.g. food type, brand name, package description and size, batch number, flavour line or similar identification). It will also include information on what to do with the product.
Types of food recalls
A trade recall is conducted when the food has not been sold directly to consumers. It involves recovery of the product from distribution centres and wholesalers. It may also involve recovery of product from hospitals, restaurants and other catering establishments.
A consumer recall is the most extensive type of recall. It involves recovery of the food product from all points in the production and distribution chain including recovery of product in the possession of consumers.
Food recall plans
The Food Standards Australia New Zealand Industry Recall Protocol provides a step-by-step guide for food businesses to help develop a written food recall plan.
Food manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and importers are required to have a written food recall plan.
Retailers, such as supermarkets, are not legally required to have a recall plan (unless they are also involved in the wholesale, distribution or importation of food). However, they are likely to be part of another food business' recall plan and therefore play an important part in the retrieval of recalled food.
The purpose of a food recall plan is to enable a food business to recall unsafe food from the marketplace and consumers efficiently, to protect public health and safety and the business reputation and brand image.
How to conduct a food recall
Food Standards Australia New Zealand has a step by step guide on how to recall food in Australia.
All the information and templates you need are provided on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.