The number of contamination recalls for Food and Drug Administration (FDA) products rose 167% from Q1 to Q2, and recalled units were more than eight times higher.
There were more FDA bacteria-related recalls in Q2 2016 than any quarter in 2014 or 2015. Listeria was responsible for 42%, Salmonella for 50% and E. coli for 6%.
USDA contamination recalls also rose, making up 21% so far this year, compared to 16% in 2015.
Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS said increases could be due to improved methods for detecting bacterial contamination. While boosting recalls in the short term, the methods will lead to better safety by giving processing companies more accurate tools for tracing and eliminating sources of contamination.
The multiplier effect
Stericycle said for many recalls there was a ‘multiplier effect’ – several recalls involving one ingredient supplier impacting lots of companies, brands and products.
“The sunflower seed Listeria recall alone accounted for more than 645,000 recalled units in Q2.
“In some cases, these recalls have crossed regulatory lines to involve both the FDA and USDA, adding additional challenges to an already complex situation.”
SunOpta recorded a $16m half-year loss from a sunflower kernel recall that affected dozens of snacking products potentially contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes.
Flour produced at a General Mills facility in Kansas City has been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the likely source of an E. coli outbreak which has sickened 46 people.
The General Mills recalls began in May, when it pulled Gold Medal, Wondra and Signature Kitchens flour produced last fall, and the recall period has been extended twice. The outbreak has also impacted retail products including Betty Crocker mixes and a Krusteaz Blueberry Pancake Mix.
Kevin Pollack, VP at Stericycle, said there was a significant spike in the total recalled units.
“There is a general trend towards greater testing and this leads to recalls not announced previously. It might not be as high but we expect some carryover to Q3 and Q4 this year as they continue to go through the supply chain.
“What previously industry thought of as cases of contamination that were not linked are now being traced to the plant and that is driving a greater increase in recalls. Tests have become more available and less expensive and continue to drive recalls.”
There were a total of 164 FDA food recalls and 28 USDA, according to the Recall Industry Spotlight.
The top commodity was vegetables, largely driven by the seed recall. For FDA food category recalls based on units, vegetables were 88.3% (more than 104m units) and the next highest was fruit at 4.1% (4.8m units).
Food and beverage recalls jumped from Q1 – more than 80 times higher for FDA recalled units (Q1 2016 1.4m vs Q2 2016 117.8m) and more than 45 times higher for USDA recalled pounds (Q1 2016 1.1m pounds vs Q2 2016 53.3m pounds).
“We continue to see common allergen recalls: milk, nut, wheat and soy are the most common in terms of units and for foreign materials such as glass, plastic and metal,” said Pollack.
“Supplements were the third most recalled in terms of units and fourth most in number of recalls, there will be more recalls as more products are produced.”
Nationwide and global
Food recalls were increasingly nationwide in the first half of the year, with 20.5% compared to less than 17% in 2014 and 2015.
So far in 2016, about 12% have been global. Previously, it was never above 8% - this makes recall execution more complex than ever before, said Stericycle.
Something as outwardly minor as a labeling error can trigger a recall when there are jurisdictional differences in the way an ingredient is regulated. With differing regulations, what constitutes an immediate recall in one market could be considered a minor error in another, it added.
Pollack said the long term goal is to increase consumer safety but each jurisdiction has their own idea of how to reach that goal.
“Disparities between US and EU regulations are already having an impact on global food recalls, and it’s a trend we expect to continue. For example, companies have been forced to remove products from shelves in some European countries due to propylene glycol, which is ‘generally recognized as safe’ in the US.”
Another example is sesame seeds, which are included in labeling requirements in Europe, Canada, and Australia – but not in the US, despite an estimated 500,000 Americans being allergic to them.
Stericycle said the moment a positive contamination test is received is not the time to consider how a recall might be managed.
“Our advice is around preparedness and handling it well, it can have major implications for a brand,” said Pollack.
“In outward communication be proactive and give all the disclosure you can, continuing to add on is the worst and ensure you have the resources to handle consumer calls and get the product off the shelves.”