Recall scares may backfire on safety effectiveness, fall on deaf ears.

Recall scares may backfire on safety effectiveness.

UK consumers are increasingly turned off by product recalls and food scares - with almost 70 per cent saying they are hardly aware of product alerts and fewer than 20 per cent trusting manufacturers. A new nationwide survey has revealed national apathy over public alerts

Ironically, as the EU and UK regulatory and advisory authorities report soaring numbers of recall and safety reports in the last year, their effectiveness in terms of consumer safety seems to be diminishing as consumer apathy sets in

The survey, conducted this month by European risk management and PR experts Razor, reveals for the first time solid statistical evidence that partially undermines the approach adopted by manufacturers and government advisory bodies who feel it is their legal and moral responsibility to 'tell it all and tell it fast' whenever a product emerges as a threat to human safety.

The Razor survey looked at recalls and product alerts in general as well as food and drink recalls in particular.

Among headlines emerging from the survey are as follows.

Some 67 per cent of those questioned, male and female, are either not aware of any product recall alerts in the last year or only aware of one or two.

The most trusted sources of product safety advice and information are the regulatory bodies or independent authorities (38 per cent), like the Food Standards Agency in the case of food and drink alerts or, more generally, local councils and the Consumer Council.

Only 17 per cent said they would trust a manufacturer's advice; 15 per cent would turn to the media for their information and a mere 13 per cent said they would trust the retailer.

On food safety alerts specifically, over a fifth, 21 per cent, feel less confident about food safety now than they did a year ago and 16 per cent 'don't care about such alerts and don't take any notice of them'.

Commenting on the findings, Chris Woodcock, Managing Director of Razor, explained: "More than 1,300 food safety incidents were investigated by the UK Food Standards Agency last year, the first time there was an industry-wide, reliable tally.

"Yet the survey shows only the minority of these, that progress as far as recall, are getting the message across.

"There are various reasons why product alert notifications are increasing, not least the 2005 product safety legislation that forced manufacturers to be responsible for informing the authorities and consumers of any potential risk to consumers from their products.

"In addition, beyond pure compliance, there is also a growing desire on the part of organisations to live up to their corporate and social responsibility commitments, by doing - and being seen to do - the right thing.

"However, our survey shows that the sheer volume of recalls and warnings is increasingly, proportionally, falling on deaf ears.

"Moreover, and perhaps even more worryingly, the trend for those who do take any notice of the advice is to trust what the media tell them more often than the retailers and almost as often as the manufacturers.

"Although the advisory bodies might be mildly encouraged by our findings, this is a sharp blow for fmcg brands who have built up brand equity over many decades and who can suffer major dents in sales and loyalty as a result of recalls or other incidents.

"It clearly indicates that more work needs to be done to recover trust and overcome the scepticism, particularly following some high-profile brand incidents in the first half of 2007".

The current rate of product alerts is no accident: for instance, more stringent public alert demands arose as a result of European legislation, which established the European Food Safety

Authority and new procedures in food safety back in 2002.

Articles within the legislation relating to traceability and transparency forced manufacturers to be more open about product recalls.

Meanwhile, the volume of alerts shows no sign of abating, nor does the provision of timely public advice: in the last year to spring 2007, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) dealt with 81 food alerts issued to local authorities and 478 notifications to the European Commission, through the

Rapid Alert system for Food and Feed that supplies Member States with two-way intelligence on measures to ensure food safety.

In a parallel move, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in June 2007 a new advisory committee designed to counsel the agency on how to strengthen the communication of risks and benefits of FDA-regulated products to the public.

The Risk Communication Advisory Committee will have a three-part role: help the FDA better understand the communication needs and priorities of the general public; advise the FDA on the development of strategic plans to communicate product risks and benefits; and make recommendations to the FDA on what current research suggests about crafting risk and benefit messages, as well as how to most effectively communicate specific product information to vulnerable audiences.

David Honour, editor of risk management and business continuity website continuitycentral.com, commented: "The momentum for manufacturers and retailers to take more action has been building seriously for about three years, triggered in part by the FSA and the British Retail Consortium's product recall guidelines.

"It seems to be becoming a positive choice for boardroom teams, not just a distress purchase by companies that feel under duress".

Other recent industry data demonstrates that recalls are also becoming increasingly international, with 48 per cent of European recalls involving products made in China, meaning that UK businesses relying on Chinese manufacturers are increasingly vulnerable, especially as Chinese legislation is still not wholly aligned with European.

Woodcock concluded: "There is a question of legal and regulatory compliance, that manufacturers are heeding but which is becoming much more complex.

"But there is also a much greater need for pre-emptive risk management and reputation-building work to prevent incidents arising or to mitigate their effects, on the consumer and on the brand, when they do occur".

Razor is a risk communications agency that specialises in risk management, issues management and crisis handling, operating largely in the food and drink industry.

It is an exclusive partner of Campden and Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA): Razor Managing Director Chris Woodcock sits on the organisation's Quality Panel and they jointly run the DARE risk management service tailored to the European food and drink industry.
The national survey was carried out with 1,000 people above the age of 16 over the weekend of 13-15 July 2007 by independent research body, BMRB International.

On 19 April 2007 the European Commission released its annual report entitled 'Keeping European Consumers Safe'.

The report outlined some alarming statistics: in the previous year there were over a thousand
notifications of unsafe products, more than ever before and a third higher than in 2005.

Among these statistics, the number of notifications in the UK had doubled from 2005 to 2006, more than the EU average, pointing towards a proportionately bigger problem here than anywhere else in Europe, with a further surge expected in 2007.

Last year saw 92 reported recalls or safety notices from the UK, not including the 78 food related recalls and withdrawals.

Not only was this more than double the number in 2005, but that year itself saw an increase of 44 percent compared to 2004.

Hence, two consecutive years where the UK figures have virtually doubled.