Final report for the efficacy of withdrawals and recalls evaluation

Summary

Between 2016 and 2017, we conducted a review of the UK food sector alongside the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The review aimed to improve the way food is recalled within the UK.

This review resulted in a package of improved guidance and new resources for consumers, local authorities and industry. Resources included UK guidance on Traceability, Withdrawals and Recalls, best practice guidance on communicating food recalls to consumers, a template point of sale notice and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) training materials (including e-learning courses). The work introduced RCA into FSS and FSA incidents processes to make sure lessons are learned and shared following incidents.

Evaluation

RSM UK Consulting LLP (RSM) was commissioned jointly by FSS and the FSA in 2021 to conduct a process evaluation to:  

1. understand how the changes were carried out 
2. evaluate the success of the system redesign, the roles of the agencies, how aware the public is of the safety around their food, and how FSS and the FSA can improve their work in the future