How a missed incident report led to a major recall

While eating a ready-made meal, a consumer suddenly bites into a hard, sharp piece of plastic. Aside from a tiny jaw wound, he remains relatively unharmed. However, the incident upset the consumer. He contacts your company, but makes no further demands.

The complaint was handled and registered internally, without taking additional actions. But soon, various comparable reports are made, and soon the connection to one specific product becomes clear. It appeared to not be an isolated incident, but a widespread problem concering an entire lot. Your company immediately shifts gears. You notify the FASFC and decide to recall the product. How could this have happened?

After further investigation, the cause comes to light: one of the machines recently broke down. A part was replaced, and after receiving green light of the maintenance technician, the production was immediately restarted. However, the replaced part did not fit perfectly, causing the plastic shafings to end up in the product. The plastic pieces were difficult to detect visually, and the critical control points failed to detect the contamination.

The part replacement was not communicated to the quality team, so no further inspection or risk assessment took place. That is where the system broke down: there was no handover between the technical and quality department.

The error was human, but the consequences were far from minor. The affected lot still made it to store shelves, and in addition to financial losses from the recall, your brand’s reputation took a hit.

One unsuccesful handover, and the entire chain breaks. Incident management cannot remain siloed within the quality department, it must be embraced by everyone in the company.

Ensure watertight procedures

An incident can escalate into a crisis when it is not properly reported. A watertight incident procedure is an essential part of crisis prevention.

Clear procedures are essential to quickly and correctly catch incidents, even before escalating into a full-blown crisis. Clear step-by-step guidelines not only help in detecting incidents, but especially in correctly categorising and treating effectively.

Make sure every employee knows what to do in the event of an incident: who needs to be informed, what information is essential, and how should the follow-up proceed. Define clear roles and assign responsibilities: who gathers the data, who assesses the risk, and who decides on a recall?

In addition, it is important to have your procedures come to life. Test them regularly through simulations that are as realistic as possible. This helps identify weak points and trains your teams to continue performing efficiently under pressure.

Create a reporting culture that goes beyond quality

A strong incident approach starts with a vibrant crisis management culture where everyone feels responsible for reporting incidents, not just the quality team. Incidents do not cease to exist beyond a department. They could affect an entire organisation: from production planning over logistics to the communications department.

Therefore, it is crucial that reporting becomes a professional reflex and is considered a sign of care and responsibility. Give employees the confidence that their reports will be taken seriously and will lead to action, also when dealing with minor, questionable or repetitive signals.

Ensure the importance of reporting remains visible in daily operations. Have managers emphasize it during briefings, feedback moments and team meetings. Make reporting behavior something valued, not punished, especially when it involves admitting a “mistake.” Most importantly, make sure everyone knows where and how to report something, without barriers or hesitation. This can be done through a central reporting point where employees can submit concerns safely and anonymously.

The strongest companies are those where safety and alertness are embraced at every level, from the shop floor to management.