Crisis Management & Recall Support

The expertise needed to handle any food-related crisis

By the time an outbreak or recall occurs, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. No company is immune to recalls or outbreaks. That’s why we’ve designed food safety and quality management systems that drastically reduces the risk of outbreaks, recalls, and other critical incidents that could be detrimental to production or brand reputation. With over three decades of experience, we specialize in providing exceptional support to food producers facing recalls and outbreaks.

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Comprehensive support investigation and mitigation

In a crisis situation there is a need for an overall crisis manager to deal with the tsunami of events that can overwhelm even the most seasoned food safety experts. These include but are not limited to:

  • Epidemiological data from state health departments and the CDC.
  • Whole genome sequencing and metagenomics data from CDC, FDA or USDA.
  • Laboratory testing information from states, FDA, USDA, and commercial labs.
  • Interactions with regulatory agencies (FDA, FSIS, CFIA, etc.)
  • Determining the validity of the data and regulatory demands.
  • Determining the root cause and implicated products.
  • Carving out the scope of the recall.
  • Ensuring that the recall is not expanded.
  • Designing and implementing a new food safety system that addresses the root cause of the current event, and also protects against other weaknesses in the system.
  • Design and implementation of monitoring Process Control Protocols.
  • Communicating to the customer base, consumers, regulators, insurance companies, and the news media.
  • Ensuring that the affected and potentially affected consumers are communicated with, their concerns are addressed, and epidemiological data is collected (through design and implementation of questionnaire instruments and call centers).
  • Addressing the needs of the impacted consumers and not to force them into litigation.
  • Working with legal teams to prepare for potential trade and bodily injury litigation.
  • Working with regulatory agencies to minimize the possibility of criminal investigation and charges.
  • Educating the market to the new food safety plan and the food safety objectives of the company.

Contact us to learn more about our Crisis Management Approach and Strategies.

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Meet the IEH Consulting Team