20.3 The overview of recall process
20.4 Notification procedures
Government
The food recall plan should include a list of government officers to be notified of the food recall. This includes FSANZ and the relevant home state action officers. It should also contain current contact lists.
Distributors, wholesalers, retailers
To ensure that the distribution of the food product is stopped and arrangements are put in place to retrieve it, the food business needs to notify its customers of the recall and provide detailed recall information.
The recall plan should include current contact lists (including contact person, telephone, fax and email details) for suppliers, distributors, wholesalers and retailers and …show more content…
The product is distributed at ambient temperature, has a shelf life of one year, does not require re-heating and has been on sale for one month.
Hazard Identification: The bacterium Clostridium botulinum could grow during product distribution and storage. Cl. botulinum causes botulism, a condition where a person, who eats food where Cl. botulinum has grown and produced toxin, can die.
Exposure Assessment: The product conditions and shelf life are suitable for Cl. botulinum to grow and produce toxin. There is no re-heating to degrade the toxin. The consumer is likely to have bought the product. The chances of exposure to Cl. botulinum toxin are high.
Hazard Characterisation: Cl. botulinum toxin is one of the most potent neurotoxins known. If the toxin is ingested the chances are high the consumer will develop severe breathing difficulties and may die.
Risk Characterisation: The chances of exposure are high and the consequences of exposure potentially lethal. A severe adverse public health effect is likely. It is not possible to quantify the risk or the uncertainties associated with the