The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently issued a letter to industry calling for increased attention to product recall communications from those involved in the manufacturing and distribution of infant formula, baby foods, and foods intended for children. The agency also outlined a list of actions it intends to take to improve the timeliness and transparency of food product recalls.

The agency is encouraging industry to examine how they communicate with the public and to continue to work with FDA whenever a product is recalled. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H. asked food industry leaders to "join [him] in [his] commitment to radical transparency,” saying “it is vital [to] use every tool at our disposal to enhance recall communication.”

In the letter, Dr. Makary reminded firms of their responsibility to inform FDA immediately when a decision to initiate a recall is made, as outlined in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), specifically, 21 CFR 7.46(a) and 107.210(a).

On the agency’s part, FDA shared several short-term goals it intends to accomplish in order to increase the transparency and availability of recall information, especially for recalls pertaining to infant formula and foods for babies and young children:

• Enhancing public access to recall information by creating a centralized, consumer-focused webpage, with a special focus on formula and foods intended for babies and young children
• Evaluating internal and external recall communication protocols regarding public communications for certain recall situations, ensuring alignment with current best practices and public health priorities
• Improving recall data granularity and accessibility by upgrading the FDA Enforcement Report system to allow for more refined and targeted filtering of recall information by the public, particularly for sensitive food categories
• Improving the reach and clarity of FDA recall communications by leveraging focus group research and other stakeholder feedback on risk communication strategies
• Further increasing the speed of recall classification through process improvements.

Additionally, in the long term, FDA will focus on:

• Optimizing recall information collection by redesigning and digitizing key recall documentation to support automated data extraction and artificial intelligence (AI) -assisted analysis, improving overall recall process efficiency
• Modernizing data submission infrastructure through implementation of an advanced digital platform for industry partners to submit standardized data, enhancing efficiency in recall information processing, dissemination, and recall classification.

The agency’s efforts to improve recall communications and its outreach to manufacturers of foods for babies and young children is in line with its Operation Stork Speed initiative, including an FDA Expert Panel on Infant Formula.