Sarah Brew Advises Food Companies on Responding to Recalls in Risk & Insurance

In the Risk & Insurance article, "Pet Food Salmonella Outbreak Spurs Testing Improvements," Sarah Brew of Faegre Baker Daniels gave food companies tips for managing contamination recalls in the wake of the Diamond Pet Foods salmonella outbreak that resulted in 30,000 tons of recalled pet foods.

"To mitigate legal and financial exposure in a food contamination, companies should immediately identify all the affected products, which helps keep the scope of the recall accurate and appropriate," said Brew, who has defended many salmonella and e-coli cases.

"Manufacturers should clearly communicate to retailers which products are recalled and which aren't," she told Risk & Insurance. "Stores seek credit for returned food, which is very costly for the manufacturer."

Brew also suggested mock recalls as a strategy for preventing a disastrous contamination. "Companies that perform mock recalls do better during an actual recall," Brew said.