Australia’s food recalls hit record highs in 2020

Every year, the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) collects data on food recalls in Australia to identify common trends, issues and problems to prevent major incidents. Recently, they released an analysis of annual food recall statistics covering the last ten years and found 2020 had unprecedented numbers. 

Food recall has two levels – consumer and trade. Consumer-level recall means that the food was available for retail, whereas trade means it was not available for public purchase. Since 2011, consumer-level recalls were the vast majority, accounting for 86 per cent of cases.   

Over the last decade, there have been a total of 763 recalls, with the average number rising annually. In 2020 there were a record 109 recalls, compared to 87 in 2019, or 67 back in 2011. The most common reason for a recall has been undeclared allergens, and this has consistently been the case every year. Undeclared allergens were behind 51 recalls in 2020, which is almost 50 per cent of the total. The next most common was microbial contamination (27 cases), followed by foreign matter (11 cases).

Most of the allergen-related recalls came about from customer complaints, with others resulting from routine testing done by the company itself or the government. According to reports, half of the allergen recalls were due to packaging errors. The most common undeclared allergen, accounting for 29 percent, was milk. This was followed by multiple allergens (17 percent) and then peanuts (17 percent). When it comes to food type, the most common recalls were mixed and/ or processed foods, confectionery, and bread and bakery products.

The purpose of collecting the data is to identify trends and continuing issues, and it is clear that undeclared allergens are a persistent concern. After some investigation, FSANZ were able to identify some prime causes of allergen-related problems.

The first root cause is the result of accidental cross-contamination occurring during the production process or from a raw ingredient. Another issue comes from a lack of knowledge or skill on behalf of staff involved in the labelling or from making errors while doing the packaging. The final difficulty comes from supplier verification issues or when the cause of the contamination was unknown and cannot be determined by the business (or FSANZ was unable to get enough information from the business).

Food businesses are aware of, or have been made aware of, these findings and know the main issues to be addressed – especially those relating to undeclared allergens. Since 2016, FSANZ has been reporting on the main corrective actions that have been taken in the industry. These have involved training staff, amending handling and processing procedures, improving communication and altering product labels.

It is of considerable concern that the numbers of recalls have been rising to record highs, and the monitoring done by FSANZ is clearly paying dividends in identifying the main issues. Hopefully, through close monitoring, regulation and ensuring involved parties are aware of recommended procedures, the numbers can be brought down again. 

Full facts and figures can be found here: Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), Food recall statistics.