If you go online and Google, “cost of a food recall,” you get a canned response of, “The average cost of a recall to a food company is $10 Million in direct costs, in addition to brand damage and lost sales” according to a joint industry study by the Food Marketing Institute and the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

What does that impact look like in a real-life scenario?

Paul Kruse, CEO and President of Blue Bell Creameries knows all too well. He informed investors last year that the company needed $125 Million or it would close, four years after a Listeria outbreak that made national headlines. The outbreak, linked to ten illnesses and three deaths, cost Blue Bell $255.2 Million from 2014 to 2017. Ouch!

A recall can deeply affect a company financially in the immediate aftermath, but there is a sinister long-term financial problem associated with a recall.  Immediately after a recall, a company will likely face a dramatic loss of direct sales, the costs of FDA and USDA compliance penalties, possible lawsuits and litigations, and insurance impacts. These costs, while extremely high, can be survivable. I would argue that the hardest issue can continue to plague a company long after the publicity of the recall fades from the headlines.

That issue is brand tarnishment and deterioration.

A company’s brand is its badge of quality and purity. The general consumer makes certain assumptions when it comes to purchasing and eating food. First and foremost is that all food is safe to eat until told otherwise. Even if the company can sustain the immediate astronomical costs of a recall, the loss of consumer confidence in the brand can ultimately destroy a company. The brutal truth about a recall is that a single outbreak can be the ‘kiss of death’ to a manufacturer.

What is the takeaway from this story? How can the devastating costs of an outbreak be prevented?

A program of rigorous, routine aseptic sampling may seem like a luxury item to some producers, but it can serve as a company’s first line of defense against the ravaging effects of a recall. Strategically placed samplers can detect bacteria early on and catch outbreaks before products leave the plant and are placed on retail shelves.

Is rigorous, routine sampling worth the expense? Given the costs of a food recall, perhaps a better question is, can you afford not to do rigorous, routine sampling?

By Brett Roeller
Director of National Accounts, QualiTru Sampling Systems
brett@qualitru.com   Follow Brett on LinkedIn