Recalls on the Rise 

2016 was known to have the greatest number of annual food recalls on record (905) with statistics showing a 10% increase between 2013 and 2018. (1) 

Food recalls are classified into three categories, which the FDA lists below:  

Class I: Dangerous or defective products that predictably could cause serious health problems or death. (2) 

Class II: Products that might cause a temporary health problem, or pose only a slight threat of a serious nature. (2) 

Class III: Products that are unlikely to cause any adverse health reaction, but that violate FDA labeling or manufacturing laws. (2) 

During the 5-year time span previously listed, meat and poultry class 1 recalls rose 83% and metal contaminants found in food products became more prevalent. (1,3)  However, as Jaydee Hanson, policy director at the Center for Food Safety notes, the rise in recalls can actually be a good thing meaning that with the Food Safety Modernization Act, companies are taking a more precautionary approach to avoiding food-borne illness, which affects nearly 48 million people a year, and issuing voluntary recalls, in which case the product may not actually be contaminated. (1) 

Food Safety Modernization Act

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) defines a new standard of safety measures for delivering food and beverages, one that ensures higher sanitization in the freight industry.  Created from industry best practices and signed into law in 2011, the FSMA actually gives shippers opportunities to reduce costs and improve operations.

Click the document to the right to learn about shipper, loader, food transport companies, and receiver FSMA requirements as well as Road Scholar Transport’s FSMA food safety plan.  

What do Recalls Really Cost? 

It’s a dreaded word that no food manufacturer wants to hear…RECALL.  The cause of over 48 million illnesses annually, nearly 25-30 food contamination incidents occur globally each week. (4)  According to a study conducted by Ohio State University’s Robert Scharff, food recalls cost an estimated $55.5 billion a year when factoring in medical expenses, productivity loss and mortality. (5)  But how does this translate from a company standpoint? 

According to Food Dive, recalls can result in the following costs: brand impairment, lost sales, disposal costs, and additional time and labor to investigate the source.  That doesn’t include the cost associated with the unfortunate event of illnesses or even death as well as any lawsuits that arise and government fines.  In fact, a study performed by the Food Marketing Institute and Grocery Manufacturers Association indicates the average direct cost to a company per recall to be $10 million! (6) 

Let’s look into the detrimental effects of product recalls in more detail. 

When one or more products are recalled, companies must notify the proper channels (alerting them of the recall), destroy those products (removing them from the shelves adding to lost revenue opportunities), and find the source of the contamination (which can lead the manufacturer to close down all of their plants for cleaning until the source is identified), all of which add up to a hefty financial burden.  And while many might see the $10 million average as a large number, Class 1 recalls, which the FDA classifies as “Dangerous or defective products that predictably could cause serious health problems or death,” can hit hundreds of millions of dollars. (4) 

Examples of Food Recall Costs 

*2006-The Cadbury Schweppes recall over chocolate bars tainted with Salmonella not only resulted in close to a $26 million loss but caused chocolate sales to drop 14%. (7) 

*2007-ConAgra agreed to pay $11.2 million dollars in criminal fines and forfeitures to the government for salmonella tainted Peter Pan peanut butter. 

*2008-Westland-Hallmark Meats beef recall which resulted in a near $500 million loss. (6) 

*2009-Peanut butter was tainted with salmonella, costing peanut producers nearly $1 billion. 

*2019-Tyson Foods recalled over 11,760,424 lbs of chicken strips for possible foreign matter contamination. (8) 

Can you afford the loss? 

Now imagine the damage done to your company’s image after such an event.  As Ironshore states, “While it takes years to establish a respected reputation, food recalls due to contamination and safety concerns can damage that reputation virtually overnight.” (4)  According to a consumer poll conducted by Harris Interactive, a market research firm in Rochester, NY, after a product recall, 55% would temporarily use a different brand, almost 15% wouldn’t buy that particular recalled product again, and 21% wouldn’t buy any brand associated with the manufacturer. (6) 

Looking for local trucking companies that specialize in food-grade transport?   We have the solution. 

Road Scholar Transport is protecting the integrity of your food products during transport with the following solutions to your everyday transportation concerns: 

Problem-Transfers:  The more products are transferred from facility to facility, the greater the risk of contamination, especially when dealing with those products which must maintain a specific temperature range.  Imagine frozen food sitting on a dock waiting to be loaded during the hot summer months as well as how many times the products were handled before reaching its final destination.  The number of transfers also makes it harder to track and pinpoint the source of contamination. 

The Solution:  Road Scholar Transport helps cut back on the handling of your products by offering 24-hour expedited service, dock-to-dock with NO transfers. 

Problem-Cross-Contamination/Sanitization: Trailers that are unsanitized pose the risk of cross-contamination, especially for less-than-truckload (LTL) shipments, which carry multiple types of products in a single trailer at the same time.  Would you want your produce transported with a load of household cleaners?  Even if the trailer is clean, fumes from these chemicals can affect food products.

Additionally, wooden pallets also serve as a means of cross-contamination, being very porous, and therefore, absorbing and maintaining fluids that can breed bacteria.  Splinters from the wood can puncture the products, causing a great risk to food, and nails (wooden pallets are said to contain an average of 150 nails), can puncture products, dripping juices onto the pallet, creating bacteria which is then transferred into future products shipped via that same pallet.  Wooden trailer floors similarly serve as a means of contamination, as spills within the trailer from previous freight, unsanitary objects and materials being carried on from shoes and forklifts, among many other means, penetrate the flooring, building up chemicals and bacteria which can enter future freight.

The Solution:  Road Scholar Transport operates trucks with aluminum floor trailers to create a more sanitary environment for your products.  We conduct regular sweeps on all trailers to ensure that your freight is being transported in a clean, and therefore safe, environment as well as have record of what has been transported since the last time the trailer was cleaned.

Problem-Poor Drivers:  Unqualified and unsafe drivers also aid in contamination risks.  For example, a driver not taking extra caution with his load can damage the products he or she is transporting.  Picture a load of glass jars smashing due to a driver speeding and not securing the load properly.  The broken glass can now affect nearby products on the same trailer.

The Solution:  Road Scholar’s trucks are air-ride equipped and driven by experienced and uniformed drivers, providing a safe, smooth ride.

Problem-Malfunctioning Equipment:  Improper maintenance of vehicles can lead to tainted products as well, especially those operating reefers.  Malfunctioning reefer units can cause spoilage or contamination risks, along with hazardous concerns (such as chemical explosions) for those products that cannot be exposed to high temperature conditions.

The Solution:  Road Scholar does not use blankets to sustain temperature.  Our temperature-protect trailers can be set to temperatures as high as 89°F (and reversely, as low as -22°F) and are equipped to handle even the tightest temperature ranges, having imbedded technology that tracks the temperature within and alerts our team in the event that the temperature goes out of range so we can rectify the situation prior to the product losing its integrity.  We even provide our customers with the tools to track their shipment live throughout the entire transportation process and can provide a complete record of the temperature within the trailer at any given time, even months after delivery, as well as each time the trailer door was opened/closed.

Visit our food grade transport services page today and learn how Road Scholar Transport can keep your freight protected from harm while in transport so that you can help reduce your risk of a multi-million dollar recall.

 

(1)https://time.com/5504355/food-recalls-more-common/

(2)https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/fda-101-product-recalls

(3)https://www.powderbulksolids.com/article/How-to-Avoid-Metal-Contamination-in-Ready-Meal-Production-07-08-2019

(4)http://www.ironshore.com/blog/costly-food-contamination-recalls-unavoidable

(5)http://fortune.com/food-contamination/

(6)http://www.fooddive.com/news/more-than-money-what-a-recall-truly-costs/426855/

(7)https://www.fooddive.com/news/more-than-money-what-a-recall-truly-costs/426855/

(8)https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/209/12/17/50-biggest-food-recalls-of-the-year/40763653/