Two recalls for Listeria have been announced in wake of the
CRF frozen produce recall, with probably more to come, One is from ConAgra Foods for organic frozen corn and peas sold under the Trader Joe's and Watts Brother labels. The other issued recall was by a Texas firm that is recalling fresh corn relish and bean salad. There will no doubt be more recalls to come as companies evaluate their supply chain.
At the heart of this is a very complex supply chain. CRF and Oregon Potato, two frozen food companies based in the Northwest are ground zero. The problem is that these companies produce product not only for retailers, but also for other manufactures through sales of bulk frozen product. What happens is this...as these seasonal produce items are harvested, much of it goes into bulk. Bulk allows manufacturers to repack product as needed to meet customer demand throughout the year. Within a given season, one company may pack more corn than they have sales for, so they sell bulk product to someone else who needs that product to fill their own orders. These transfers occur throughout the year and allow companies to be efficient in meeting the demand of their customers. That is the good part.
The problem arises when one of the companies has an issue, say Listeria, that then affects the whole chain. For example, Company A is repacking some mixed vegetable product and needs to purchase bulk peas or onions form Supplier B to help fill the order.. Now Company A, who has a great internal Listeria program, purchases Supplier B who may or may not have a good Listeria Program.. Supplier B provides a COA showing that lot was good (Listeria negative). But FDA makes a visit to Supplier B and in conducting environmental testing, they find Listeria in Supplier B's facility.. It could even be that Supplier B sold product to another company who is then implicated in an outbreak that traces back to Supplier B. In these cases, Company A must conduct a recall.
This can even go further back. Supplier B was a little short on onions and purchased onions from Supplier C to help fill their order to Company A. And it is found that Supplier C has an issue. That issue now becomes a problem for Supplier B as well as Company A. And if Company A is producing product for 10 different retailers, now you have a whole lot of retailers having to recall product. And if Supplier C was also selling bulk product to two other repacking companies who were producing product for a dozen more retailers, we can easily see how this can expand.
It is difficult to ensure that suppliers are adequately controlling risk, it can even be harder to make sure that the supplier's supplier is adequately controlling risk. Unfortunately, as logistics / purchasing people look to take advantage of co-packing opportunities, the true cost of risk control may not be considered. These costs can include extensive product testing, on-site visits, insistence that supplier institute aggressive Listeria control programs, etc. To be fair, Listeria control was probably not on many people mind when these deals were made. However, moving forward, it must become a part of the picture.
FDA Recall Notices
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm499623.htm
Company Announcement
When a company announces a recall, market withdrawal, or safety alert, the FDA posts the company's announcement as a public service. FDA does not endorse either the product or the company.
Watts Brothers Farms Organic Mixed Vegetables, Organic Super Sweet Corn, And Organic Peas And Trader Joe's Organic Super Sweet Corn Recalled Because Of Possible Health RiskFor Immediate Release
