Product Recall

The recall team from Store-for-long Pte Ltd was called upon immediately. The first action the recall team took was to inform the HSA’s Enforcement Branch on the receipt of the product defect information within the 24 hours starting from the first complaint. The team then finalised the classification, level and strategy they should carry out for the recall with HSA.

The assessment of recall for this product is classified under Class 2 Recall as there were complaints from the Army Force that the soldiers suffered from diarrhoea and vomiting. This case of food poisoning was not to the extent of being in the Class 1 Recall category where a life-threatening situation is posed. For the level of recall, it has been grouped under consumer level as the complaints came from the Army Force who was the direct consumers.

After finalisation and agreement among the two parties (HSA and Store-For-Long Pte Ltd), the recall team then traced back the distribution of the products delivered to the army camp and to the soldiers. Under investigation, it was found out that the defective production batch number is 60277B. All the remaining pastas under the same production batch that have yet to be consumed were collected back to prevent more people from getting food poisoning by consumption of this defective product. Some of the collected product was sent for lab testing to find out the actual cause of food poisoning.

From the lab testing report, it was found out that a handful of the chicken in the pasta pack were uncooked on the inside and there was a positive count of salmonella It was concluded that this is a salmonella food poisoning case. The entire HACCP plan was reviewed; the time and temperature for blanching and retorting were reconsidered. It was found out that the temperature on the temperature-time log for the production batch did not coincide with the ones for blanching and retorting. The temperature-time log showed that the chicken cubes were retorted at a lower temperature. This caused the chicken to be cooked only on the surface and not the inner parts.

The recall team came together to brainstorm for corrective action to be done to improve the safety of this product. It was decided that the temperature-time log of the blanching and retorting step must be checked each time and also incorporate stirring during blanching and rotating function during retorting. It is compulsory that all staffs should undergo a basic or refresher workshop to familiarize themselves with the process of preparing this new product and reinforcement of the importance of good personal hygiene (appropriate time, temperature, Standard Operating Procedures [SOP] and Good Manufacturing Practices [GMP]). Before this new product is re-launched into the market, sufficient lab tests should be conducted to ensure that it is absolutely safe for consumption in order to reassure the Army Force that such incident will not repeat.

Retort Packaging

What is Retort Packaging?
Retort is a process that uses heat and pressure to cook food in a strong, sealed package. Because the packaging is less bulky than traditional cans and jars, foods cook more quickly, providing a better tasting product for your customer.

Advantages of Flexible Retort Packaging:•Shelf-stable and requires no refrigeration
•Larger surface area for marketing information
•More appetizing package presentation
•Better merchandising options throughout the store
•Reduced storage space
•Lighter and less expensive to ship
•Easier for customer to open, heat and use product

http://retortpackaging.com/index.html

Other resources
http://www.idspackaging.com/Common/exhib_11961/Case_File_26.pdf