How does a supermarket recall actually come about?
Supermarket recalls: here at FavorFlav, we’ve already devoted a worrying number of articles to them. A look through the archive shows that we publish a warning almost every month. Last December, for example: pieces of metal in Albert Heijn’s spelt bread. And the first week of 2023 was no exception, with Jumbo discovering a listeria bacterium in its Cologne-style spreadable liver sausage. So we wondered: how does a supermarket recall actually come about?
The Rapid Alert System
When you take a bite of your spelt bread with spreadable liver sausage at home, you obviously can’t taste whether the product you’re swallowing is safe or not. Okay, you might taste pieces of metal, but you really won’t notice whether there’s a bacterium in it. That’s why supermarket products are tested in the laboratory of the Rapid Alert System. This is a system that brings together all the European Commission bodies authorised to recall dangerous (non-food) products. In the Netherlands, that body is the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). If such a laboratory test shows that the product is unsafe, the product can be recalled.
Product warnings
So how does a product warning come about? This can happen in several ways. Sometimes the producer discovers that the product is defective before it reaches the shops or online stores. But it may also be that the safety defects are only discovered after some units have already been sold. The NVWA takes up such cases and turns them into a recall. You then read about it everywhere (including on FavorFlav), so as many people as possible are informed as quickly as possible. The NVWA then tests the product in the laboratory.
Am I entitled to anything in the event of a recall?
You may be entitled to compensation in the event of a supermarket recall. Keep in mind that whether you are entitled to anything, and exactly what, depends on your situation. So make sure you get proper information!
Also read:
- Website collects product warnings: a frightening number of products are unsafe
- This is how long salmonella can survive in chocolate
- Thanks for the mistake: supermarket chain Coop sells pork in veal schnitzels
Source: Radar/AvroTros
