Food recalls cost millions. Is your brand protected?

This is especially true for poultry, meat, and fish processors, where contamination risks and strict regulations demand constant vigilance. Yet, many food production companies still rely on paper-based systems that are no longer sufficient in today’s food industry, where real-time insights and traceability are crucial.  

This article explores last year’s alarming rise in foodborne illnesses, the devastating financial impact of recalls, and the pressing need for modernized food safety. Whether you're a QC manager, food safety officer, or compliance manager, read on to learn how digital solutions like AXIN Software help protect consumers—and your brand.

Meanwhile, food and beverage recalls continued to fluctuate. The FDA recorded an 8% increase in food recalls and alerts from 2023, while the USDA recorded a 38% decline. Undeclared allergens and mislabeled ingredients remained the leading cause of food recalls, accounting for 34% of cases. 

Despite the lower overall recall count, the sharp rise in hospitalizations and deaths underscore the urgent need for robust food safety measures throughout the supply chain.

How much do food recalls cost?

The primary goal of any product recall is to protect consumers by removing unsafe products from circulation. Once the immediate safety risk is addressed, manufacturers are left to deal with the devastating financial impact.

According to a study by GMA, Covington & Burling LLP, and Ernst & Young, direct food recall costs alone average around 10 million US dollars, and in 23% of cases the cost exceeds 30 million. These expenses include assembling crisis management teams, issuing recall notifications, retrieving contaminated products, and conducting investigations to prevent future occurrences. However, these figures may only scratch the surface—indirect costs, such as legal fees, regulatory penalties, and lost sales, can escalate the financial strain even further.

Reputational costs are harder to quantify but no less devastating. When customers lose confidence in a brand, it can be a long and expensive journey, often taking years to regain trust among customers and end consumers.

Why is food production software necessary?

Despite the enormous risks of food safety failures, many food production companies still rely on paper-based systems to oversee food safety processes. These traditional methods make it difficult to minimize risks, track contamination sources, and respond to recalls quickly.

Paper records are slow and inefficient, meaning critical insights can be buried in stacks of paperwork. Without real-time visibility into key processes like inventory management and sanitation procedures, the risk of contamination increases. And when a crisis arises—like a recall or contamination issue—the last thing anyone wants is to waste valuable time digging through files.

Paper systems also leave too much room for human error, making it difficult to ensure accurate, audit-ready documentation. And as food safety regulations evolve, staying compliant with stringent standards like FDA, HACCP, and ISO becomes increasingly challenging.

To ensure food quality and remain competitive in today’s food safety environment, processors need the speed and insight that only food manufacturing software can provide.

How can food production software improve safety and quality?

For key roles such as QC managers, food safety officers, and compliance teams, ensuring food safety while keeping up with regulatory demands is a constant challenge. Marel offers a wide range of AXIN Software Solutions designed to streamline these responsibilities, make work more efficient and effective, and ultimately enhance food safety and quality at every stage of food processing.

Real-time data analytics and control

AXIN Software can analyze data with a level of speed and interconnectedness that is impossible with paper. Real-time data analytics alert to potential problems and highlight opportunities for improvement, so QC managers can make informed decisions in an instant via a user-friendly dashboard. The software can also analyze historical trends to provide insights that inform a strategy of continuous improvement.

Enhanced accuracy

Controlling versions of production data is a struggle when using a paper-based model, as documents are typically read and updated one at a time. With a centralized software system and user-friendly dashboard, QC managers can ensure vital information such as inventory, production schedule, and traceability data are accurate and up to date.

Automating real-time data capture from equipment also greatly decreases the risk of inaccuracies. Even when human input is needed, software can limit input fields to only accept data in the correct format and detect duplication, further reducing the risk of errors.

Full traceability and recall readiness

Food processing software reliably collects, stores, and analyzes data in real time, giving QC managers everything they need to secure full traceability throughout production. From source to shelf, users can easily trace all registered items. This supports swift recall and auditing processes, enabling a quick and effective response if an issue arises.

Streamlined compliance management

Software enables quality teams to greatly streamline internal compliance efforts. With an intuitive compliance manager dashboard and multi-facility views, it provides real-time visibility into compliance against corporate standards. Users can manage, audit, score, and enforce requirements with a single tool while monitoring and eliminating risk across all activities.

Efficient sampling and inspection checks

Sampling and inspection checks are essential for ensuring products meet safety standards and specifications. With plant management software, QC personnel can closely monitor production for potential issues, intervene sooner when concerns arise, and apply techniques like statistical process control (SPC) to tighten quality measures. This proactive approach reduces unnecessary checks, streamlining the inspection process and cutting overall inspection time.

Improved team efficiency and engagement

By automating tedious processes and providing operator guidance, software can reduce human error while freeing up time for team members to make better use of their skills. Having a centralized system also fosters collaboration and coordination as everyone is now working within the same digital environment.

The next step toward safer, more efficient food processing

It should be clear by now that food processing software can greatly enhance food safety and quality assurance as well as overall operational performance. AXIN Software offers you all the tools necessary to automatically collect, analyze, and convert production data into vital insights, all while providing complete control of production and quality assurance.

Whether you’re ready to optimize your food safety processes or just want to learn more, our experts are here to help. Fill out the form below to book a meeting and explore how our solutions can transform your processes. Our software specialists are standing by to listen to your needs, analyze your current production, and map out how we can support your success.