The food industry is the second most affected industry sector by recalls due to non-conformity or foreign body contamination. Using state-of-the-art inspection systems like XSpectra protects companies’ operations.
Food product recalls
The food industry is one of the largest, in terms of turnover, and most complex industries in the world. From the harvesting of raw materials to the plate on which we eat it, food goes through numerous processes of handling, packaging and transport that threaten its quality and safety.
In fact, the food industry is the second industry sector to suffer from product recalls due to defects, non-conformity or contamination.
16% of economic losses due to recalls come from the food industry, which, according to Rasff, the European alert system, counted 109 recalls for foreign bodies in 2019.
The cost of recalls
A report of a contaminated product has serious consequences for the manufacturing company, starting above all with costs and economic losses.
A recall of a contaminated product costs a company on average between 8 and 10 million Euros between organizational and logistical costs for the recall of goods and lost sales.
This is a particularly heavy and important cost for many companies, which also run the risk of a bad corporate image and thus a further reduction in sales. It is estimated that around 21% of consumers are inclined to buy products of other brands as a result of contamination incidents.
Other indirect costs may be due to the time and resources allocated to investigate the causes of the problem, the temporary shutdown of the production line until all critical issues are solved and the disposing of contaminated products.
Planning and Prevention
Proper preparation and prevention enable companies to reduce the risks of contamination by foreign bodies and thus save money that they would otherwise lose due to a recall.
The best prevention is to make an investment in an inspection system that can detect contaminants and non-conformities in advance, before they are placed on the market.
XSpectra, the solution designed by Xnext, is able to effectively detect all high and low-density foreign bodies directly in the production line in real time, drastically reducing the risk of entire batches being recalled.
Xnext’s technology is never a cost but an investment in the quality and safety of its products, the protection of consumers’ health and brand image.
