A written procedure that lets a food business quickly identify, locate and remove unsafe food from the market if a recall is needed.
A written procedure setting out how a business will identify, locate and remove unsafe or non-compliant food from sale, including who is responsible and how customers and regulators are contacted.
Businesses that manufacture, import or wholesale food are generally required to have a written recall plan, and it should be supported by traceability records.
A recall plan relies on traceability. Records that trace food one step back and one step forward let a business quickly identify and locate affected product.
A practice exercise where a business picks a batch and checks it can trace how much was made, where it went, and how quickly it could be recovered, to test the plan.
FSANZ coordinates food recalls in Australia and publishes the Food Industry Recall Protocol that guides how businesses conduct a recall.