Dive Brief:
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Although the total number of Food and Drug Administration recalls during the third quarter dropped 11% to 158, both the quantity of products recalled and the risk those recalls posed to public health increased, according to the Stericycle Expert Solutions' third-quarter recall index, released Tuesday. Total U.S. Department of Agriculture recalls fell 49% to 24 recalls, and USDA recalled 27% fewer pounds of food during the third quarter, the index reported. Allergens were the cause of 62.5% of USDA recalls.
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Stericycle reported that of the food units FDA recalled during the quarter, 95.6 percent were deemed Class I threats, which is the most serious level. Of those recalled units, 96.9% were because of undeclared allergens — with milk being the most common, followed by nuts, soy and wheat.
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"Allergens continue to be a leading cause of food recall activity, and manufacturers still struggle to find a solution," Mike Good, Stericycle's vice president of marketing and sales operations, said in a statement. "It is a growing concern because as the number of allergen-caused recalls have increased, so has the number of people with food allergies in the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated that 4 to 6 percent of children and 4 percent of adults now suffer from food allergies, causing approximately 30,000 emergency room treatments and 150 deaths each year."
Dive Insight:
FDA rates its most serious food recalls as Class 1, which the agency defines as a situation in which there is a reasonable probability that the use of, or exposure to, a violative product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death.
Allergens definitely amount to a "violative product" to those who must avoid ingredients like milk, eggs, tree nuts, soy, wheat, peanuts and shellfish. About 4% of Americans have some sort of food allergy, according to recent research from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
Dr. Li Zhou, lead researcher on that study, told CBS News that food allergies seem to be on the rise and that more food allergy-related hospitalizations have occurred in the U.S during the past 10 years. Food allergies cost the country $25 billion each year, she said.
Stericycle noted in a press release that while the drop in total recalls reported during the third quarter would usually be seen as good news, "the scale and severity of the recalls were troubling." The prevalence of the recalls could be because of factors like cross-contamination of allergens within a food manufacturing facility or sloppy ingredient labeling — where an allergen is accidentally left off the list.
It's surprising if food manufacturers are getting to be more careless, since food allergies seem to be on the rise. According to a study from FAIR Health, insurance claims for severe health problems from food allergies have increased 377% from 2007 to 2016. As more companies that pride themselves on being allergen-free are founded, it follows that other manufacturers should be more careful.
The law is trying to codify this increased amount of care. The Food Safety Modernization Act's preventive controls rule requires food facilities to have written procedures in place to control allergen cross-contact and to make sure that allergens are appropriately listed on labels of packaged food products. While FSMA is in full force for several manufacturers, FDA and local authorities are being cautious in ensuring that protocol is being met and not forcing recalls or shutdowns. Experts say it is too early to tell if FSMA is impacting the number of recalls taking place.
Apart from the serious danger to at-risk consumers, a product recall is a major problem for a manufacturer, requiring the unraveling of often complex food supply networks. Prevention of food allergen contamination should involve equipment cleaning, process controls, separation of processing lines that deal with allergens, label reviews and employee training.
The situation may show improvement as manufacturers ramp up allergen controls and keep a closer eye on labeling.