Sustainability

Callback and Risk Management: New Data for Food Manufacturers

24/01/2025

| Milton Keynes, UK | Food safety is in the spotlight worldwide as the number of warnings and recalls has reached alarming levels. In the UK, the number of food recalls increased by 10% in 2024, according to the Food Standards Agency (FSA).But how do such recalls occur, what consequences do they have and how can safe supply chains help to minimise the risk?

Food Warnings: Figures and Causes

The FSA identified the most common causes of recalls as:

Undeclared Allergens (57 cases): These were primarily due to labelling omissions from recipe changes or cross-contamination.

Physical Contamination (23 cases):This includes foreign materials such as metal or glass entering food during processing.

Pathogen Contamination (22 cases): Bacterial contamination resulting from inadequate hygiene or improper storage conditions.

Incorrect Use-By Dates (7 cases): Errors related to labelling or product coding.

Additional issues include cross contamination, counterfeit products in the supply chain, and defective packaging. Such figures underline the importance of robust quality management throughout the food industry.

Furthermore, the United Kingdom Food Security Report: Theme 5: Food Safety and Consumer Confidence, published on December 11, 2024, highlighted that approximately 26% of all incidents reported over the past three years involved microorganisms that could potentially cause illness. The report also noted an upward trend in food businesses' hygiene compliance, although a backlog of businesses still awaits inspection.

The Consequences for Companies

A recall can have far-reaching consequences for companies, from economic losses to a loss of consumer confidence. In addition to direct costs such as the recall and disposal of affected products, there are also indirect costs, such as production downtime or loss of reputation.

In an increasingly digitalised world, information about recalls is being disseminated faster and more transparently. 

Secure Supply Chains as a Solution

Secure supply chains play a key role in minimising the risk of contamination and recalls. Traceability is a key aspect of this. Modern systems make it possible to precisely identify affected batches and recall them in a targeted manner instead of withdrawing entire production series from circulation. This reduces costs and maintains consumer confidence.

Technologies such as metal detectors, X-ray systems and visual inspections help to identify and reject foreign bodies at an early stage. Supplemented by digital solutions, such as the integration of GS1 Digital Links on packaging, transparency is improved across the entire value chain.

Comprehensive traceability is essential to minimise the economic risks of recalls and ensure brand safety.
Fred Köhler
Head of the Business Unit Industry at Bizerba
Conclusion

Prevention is the Key

The rising number of food alerts shows how important preventative measures are. Safe supply chains, supported by modern technologies and effective traceability systems, offer companies the opportunity to minimise risks and at the same time strengthen consumer confidence. This is not only a benefit for food safety, but also for the long-term stability and reputation of manufacturers.

In an industry where any mistake can have serious consequences, prevention is the key to a safe and sustainable future.

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About Bizerba

Bizerba is one of the world's leading suppliers of precision products and integrated solutions for slicing, processing, weighing, testing, order picking, labeling and payment. As an innovative company, the Bizerba Group is continuously driving forward the digitalization, automation and networking of its products and services.

In this way, Bizerba offers its customers from trade, commerce, industry and logistics greater added value with complete state-of-the-art solutions. From hardware to software, apps, and cloud solutions, all complemented by the appropriate labels or consumables, Bizerba adheres to the motto 'unique solutions for unique people'.

Bizerba was founded in 1866 in Balingen / Baden-Württemberg and is today one of the top players in 120 countries with its solutions portfolio. The family-run company, now in its fifth generation, employs around 4,500 people worldwide and has production facilities in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Serbia, UK, China, Canada and the USA. In addition, the group of companies maintains a worldwide network of sales and service locations. Further information about Bizerba can be found at www.bizerba.com.