What is a product recall and what triggers one?

A recall is the process of stopping the sale of a food product and getting it back from customers when it may be unsafe or does not meet FSSAI requirements. Cakesify has a Food Recall Plan filed with FSSAI, and we are required to follow it.

Six things can trigger a review

• A direction from FSSAI, a Food Safety Officer or another authority
• You telling us a product of yours may be unsafe
• A customer complaint about illness, foreign matter, spoilage, or an allergen not declared on the listing
• Two or more similar complaints about the same product or the same store
• Your FSSAI registration or licence being found suspended, cancelled or expired
• Laboratory results or credible information showing a product does not meet FSSAI standards

Three levels of seriousness

Class I. A reasonable probability that eating the food will cause serious illness or death. An undeclared major allergen sits here.

Class II. Eating it may cause temporary or reversible health effects.

Class III. Unlikely to cause harm, but the product breaks labelling or other FSSAI requirements.

Who decides

Martin Maravattickal, Director, is Cakesify's Recall Coordinator. He reviews the facts within 24 hours and decides whether a recall is needed and what class it is. Where a recall is decided, the CEO, FSSAI is notified within 24 hours and it is filed on the FoSCoS Food Recall module.

What actually happens

What happens during a recall? sets out the steps and the timelines in order.

What this means for you day to day

Almost nothing, if your listings are accurate and your licence is current. The two things that most often put a seller into this process are an allergen left off a listing and a licence that quietly expired.