Consumers will soon be able to find out about pulled products at the store checkout

Nov 4, 2009

Consumers will soon be able to find out about product recalls at the
store checkout as part of a system designed to help retailers and
manufacturers act quickly to remove hazardous products from store
shelves, the developers of the program say.

Whether it's tainted meat or poisonous lead in toys, Canadian
manufacturers and retailers will be able to identify and communicate
more accurately which products need to be recalled under a program
developed by GS1 Canada, said the head of product development Tim White.

The non-profit, industry led association manages the bar code system in
Canada, which would form the backbone of the recall program.

"GS1 technology makes connecting recall information between
manufacturers and retailers faster and more consistent," said Eileen
MacDonald, chief operating officer at GS1 Canada. "The bottom line for
Canadians is recalled products will be off store shelves faster than
ever before.

For food recalls, the program would complement the existing recall
system operated by the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency,
responsible for issuing food-recall notices, she added.

Product recalls are becoming a bigger headache for industry as more
manufacturing takes place 

"We have one of the safest food safety systems in the world. This will
make it even safer," said John Scott, president and CEO of the Canadian
Federation of Independent Grocers.

Product recalls are becoming a bigger headache for manufacturers now
that more products are made outside Canada where Canadian standards do
not apply, said Nancy Croitoru, president and CEO of the Food and
Manufacturers Products of Canada.

The group is one of four Canadian industry associations representing
grocery stores, retailers and food and product manufacturers that have
endorsed the GS1 system and will be urging their members to buy it.

GS1 says companies that register in the program will pay between $250
and $1,700 a year to belong, depending on their size.

The main benefit is that the program provides a single point of contact
with standardized, detailed information, ensuring recalls are accurately
and swiftly implemented, GS1 said.

"This system will reduce the costs and risks for retailers and
demonstrate they're doing everything in their power to ensure the
products they sell are safe," Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the
Retail Council of Canada said. 

Eventually, consumers could check for themselves whether a product on a
store shelves had been the subject of a recall by scanning the bar code
with their cellphone and entering the data in an online database, White
said.

As well, manufacturers will know exactly which retailer has seen the
recall notice and when it has finished pulling recalled product from
store shelves, a measure that could help insulate product makers from
million-dollar lawsuits launched by consumers, White said.

Canada's largest meat processor, Maple Leaf Foods, for example, agreed
last March to pay $25 million to settle a lawsuit after a listeria
outbreak at a Toronto plant the previous summer was linked to 21 deaths.

Montreal-based toy maker Mega Brands Inc. paid $13.5 million (U.S) in
October 2006 to settle a lawsuit, after a child died from swallowing
tiny magnets that came loose in one of its Magnetix toys made in China.

The program will begin rolling out "within days" in Canada, White said.
As bar code is gradually replaced with radio frequency identification
tags, the system will work with those as well.