By Roger Hancock, CEO of Recall InfoLink
I've been watching this summer's Cyclospora outbreak the way I watch every recall, which is closely and with a fair amount of frustration.
Consumers have been asking reasonable questions for weeks. Why did so many people have to get sick before anyone decided to recall anything? Once the recall was issued, why did it seem to do so little to stop people from getting sick? If this is a predictable food safety event, one that arrives every summer, why wasn't the supply chain ready to move faster? Why wasn’t it prevented in the first place, and why has this year been worse instead of better? This is more than I can unpack in a short op-ed, but there are a few things I can offer from the recall side that may help address the confusion that has been so rampant.
Let’s start with what was hard about this recall, because some of it was justifiably complicated. Cyclospora is difficult to detect in food, which is why a sample read positive on July 18 and was called a false positive a day later. Symptoms take about a week to appear, sometimes two, so investigators were asking sick people across multiple states to reconstruct meals from ten days back and find the overlap. Lab results take time, and early information often gets revised. Supply chains cross international borders, which means different compliance requirements, and more complicated traceback pathways. Some of this is unavoidable, some of it could be improved drastically. Still, we’ll never get away from complicated recalls.
That said, this outbreak hasn’t been handled well at any point. There were many missteps in the early stages, and there continue to be. Other people have thoroughly commented on the systemic, political and regulatory factors that need improvement. I’m going to focus on the recall part, and particularly how consumers were impacted by poor communication surrounding the decision to recall and the needed corrective action once that decision was made.
People have spent weeks avoiding bagged salad, berries, fresh herbs, and more because the messaging hasn’t been specific enough to help them make better-informed decisions. The public needs actionable information as it’s available, and that includes clear updates as the situation evolves. Transparency doesn’t require finality. Minimizing risk to public health should be every company’s first priority, whether or not the lab results have been confirmed. Clear communication should be driven by decisive action based on the risk, not on what’s provable.
Here's what I'd want a consumer to take from this:
When you're watching a recall unfold, understand that it will change. It’s normal for scope to expand and findings to get revised. The question is whether anybody told you when it changed, how fast, and in language specific enough to act on. A company that communicates clearly through an evolving situation is usually a company that did the preparation work beforehand.
More fundamentally, build food safety habits into your routine today. CDC and FDA both publish practical guidance on safe produce handling, and the Partnership for Food Safety Education has helpful, plain-language material. Buy local as much as possible, know where your produce comes from, and know how to properly clean and prepare the food you bring into your home. Sign up for loyalty programs at grocery stores and restaurants you frequent to make it easier to get recall notices.
Consumer confusion shouldn't be part of a recall, no matter how complicated the recall is. Companies owe it to the public to do better than what we've seen this summer. When recall decisions are delayed, notices too vague to act on, and misinformation at a premium, it is up to consumers to figure out how to keep themselves safe.
I often say that confusion is the enemy of an effective recall. It's also the enemy of public health, of brand reputation, and this summer, of the entire produce industry. This has been an unfortunate example of how much burden consumers still carry to protect themselves. We know how to do this better, and people got sick this summer waiting for us to prove it.
About the author: Roger Hancock is CEO of Recall InfoLink, with experience that spans the retail, tech, data, regulatory and supply chain arenas. Hancock is also a steering committee member of the Alliance for Recall Ready Communities.
