Prove you're retail ready. Even in a recall.
Run mock recalls without pulling product. Extend into crisis, TACCP and continuity on the same cadence.
What if the entire mock recall, from scenario to retailer-ready report, took less than 60 minutes? You could run it this week.
Why now
Retailers want recall metrics, not just recall plans
Retailer QA teams ask if your last mock recall held, not whether one is documented. The exercise produces the evidence they actually want to see.
Continuous mock recall is the new minimum
Major retailers and GFSI schemes have moved from annual rituals to twice-yearly and quarterly cadence. SQF, BRCGS and FSSC all point the same way.
Third parties are where recalls fail first
Co-packers, 3PLs and ingredient suppliers extend your traceability chain beyond your own walls. Most suppliers find the gaps mid-recall.
The obligations behind every audit, retailer review and certification visit
The site shall conduct a documented mock recall that verifies the effectiveness of the recall and withdrawal procedure. FDA Food Traceability Final Rule (FSMA Section 204) compliance applies for certain US foods. In Australia, FSANZ Standard 3.2.2 requires a written recall plan and FSANZ recall procedures must be tested.
The crisis-management plan must be tested annually as a separate exercise from the recall procedure test.
Major grocery and mass channel codes typically require 4-hour traceability twice yearly. QSR supplier protocols typically require 3-hour. Some warehouse-club channels target 2 hours.
Don't see your framework?
Handrails covers more than SQF, BRCGS and FSSC. If your obligation is listed here, or you don't see it at all, let us know.
- Food defense (TACCP)Tabletop testing of the food defense plan is the increasingly-expected verification mechanism for the annual vulnerability assessment. Required under 21 CFR Part 121 for US large facilities; FSANZ requires food safety programs to consider deliberate contamination risks.
- Food Fraud (VACCP)Food fraud vulnerability assessment for economically motivated adulteration, with annual review. US FTC and ACCC enforcement follow when fraud reaches consumers.
From scenario to retailer-ready report, in under 60 minutes.
Built around your context
Answer a few questions about your setup, including your SKUs, plants, retailer list and recall SOP. The scenario is tuned to the obligations actually in scope, not a generic template. Hours of consultant prep, designed in minutes.
Run it live, virtually
Your team joins a video call. QA, Ops, Comms, Legal and Sales account teams in the same call; each function makes the decisions they'd actually make: the hold call, the retailer notification, the regulator report, the customer statement. The recording is the evidence stream. Scheduling is the only setup.
The report is ready before you close the call
Results generated in minutes, logged against your internal SOP and what retailers and certifying bodies demand. See areas for improvement and re-run quarterly to show the improvement curve retailers and program reviewers now want to see.
Tailored, not templated
Allergen mislabel
QA flags an undeclared allergen on a shipped SKU. Class II recall pathway under FSMA and FSANZ, trace and trace-forward, hold, retailer comms, customer health-risk assessment.
Crisis management · viral product failure
A customer video of a product defect goes viral overnight. Crisis-management plan activation under BRCGS Issue 9 cl. 3.11, retailer notification, customer-facing comms, social-media response, brand-reputation control, decision tree on whether the issue triggers a recall.
Import hold at port
FDA detains a shipment under FSMA; FSANZ flags a parallel issue at AU port of entry. Broker comms, substitution logistics, retailer SLA impact, root-cause back at the plant.
Give your suppliers a fast path to recall readiness. And full visibility across the network.
Major retailers are tightening supplier recall requirements, but verifying readiness across hundreds of suppliers is its own burden. Embed Handrails into your supplier quality program. Your suppliers run the exercise, you get the evidence, and you maintain visibility across the whole network without the overhead.
Be the partner that makes recalls feel manageable for your clients.
Run your first consumer packaged goods exercise this week.
Sign up, pick a scenario, invite the team. The report is ready before the session ends.