The Food and Drug Administration is calling on industry to provide input on how to better institute recalls, particularly for food for infants.

In a letter to industry leaders, FDA Commissioner Martin Makary asked for manufacturers, packers, distributors, exporters, importers and retailers to focus attention on incidents involving chemical contaminants. He said it is imperative for industry and the FDA to work together to ensure swift, transparent and effective recall communication. 

Enhanced communication with the public is one of the cornerstones of the FDA plan.

“We are welcoming industry leaders’ input on how industry and the FDA can communicate recalls faster and in formats that leverage new digital tools,” Makary said in the announcement about the industry comment period.

“The FDA’s ability to make informed decisions and disseminate crucial updates to consumers hinges on industry providing prompt notification of recall information to the agency. Recognizing this interdependence, we kindly remind firms to inform the FDA immediately when a decision to initiate a recall is made.”

However, recent staffing cuts at the FDA have hit hard the departments responsible for releasing public information, including that on recalls and public alerts. According to Makary’s letter to industry, the FDA is now relying on food companies to take it upon themselves to notify the pubic of safety issues in products for infants and children so consumers have access to the most timely and comprehensive information.

Makary said industry and government recall systems must evolve to meet the public’s need for timely information.

Short-term goals of the FDA include:

• evaluating internal and external recall communication protocols on public communications for certain recall situations, ensuring alignment with current best practices and public health priorities.
• Improving recall data granularity and accessibility by upgrading the FDA Enforcement Report system to allow for more refined and targeted filtering of recall information by the public, particularly for sensitive food categories.
• Improving the reach and clarity of our recall communications by leveraging focus group research and other stakeholder feedback on risk communication strategies.
• Further increasing the speed of recall classification through process improvements.

Long-term goals include:

• Optimizing recall information collection by redesigning and digitizing key recall documentation to support automated data extraction and AI-assisted analysis, improving overall recall process efficiency.
• Modernizing data submission infrastructure through implementation of an advanced digital platform for industry partners to submit standardized data, enhancing efficiency in recall information processing, dissemination, and recall classification.