Product recall

A Congressional report released in February 2021 called out several popular baby food
manufacturers for what they termed as having baby foods with dangerously high levels of toxins.
The report revealed that companies manufacturing baby food were releasing products for
consumption that were unsafe for the market. One of the brands mentioned in the report was
Walmart’s Parent’s Choice, a baby product. The brand was also highlighted in other baby food
safety reports. For instance, Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) conducted an analysis on
comprehensive heavy metal tests and found that Parent’s choice had dangerously high levels of
toxic metals.
Despite the calls for product recall based on the two reports, Walmart did not issue a
product recall on this brand. Just like other brands mentioned in the report, the company went
silent. Parents were concerned about the safety of their babies, but Walmart failed to respond to
the calls from these worried parents.
However, on October 8, 2021, Walmart finally recalled Parent’s Choice Rica Baby
Cereal. The company stated that it had received advice from Food and Drug
Administration(FDA) that the brand contains naturally occurring inorganic arsenic in very high
levels than those allowed by the government (Motherhood Community, 2022). Following the
call, Walmart decided to recall this specific brand, and no other brand was recalled. All products
whose expiry date was by November 30, 2022, were recalled. Walmart also noted that there had
been no illnesses or reactions following the consumption of the recalled brand. Walmart advised
parents to return the products to Walmart for a full refund. They also had the option of discarding
the product.

First of all, it is important to arrive at the recall decision as swiftly as possible. Upon
receiving the Congress report, Walmart should have acted immediately. The senior management
should have appointed a recall committee with one senior member f the executive to facilitate the
process. Communication is very important. Walmart should have utilized its website and social
media pages to inform concerned parents that it was investigating the matter, and if confirmed, a
recall would be made immediately (Motherhood Community, 2022). The Congress report was
released in February, and it was until October after an FDA report that Walmart finally made a
call for a recall. The time taken with no official communication from the company was too
much. By then, some of the customers might have switched to other brands that they felt were
safe for their children.
As part of the recall, Walmart should identify the major stakeholders for the recall
beyond the end consumer. These stakeholders include employees, distributors, dealers, service
centers, regulatory agencies, and sales forces (Wowak et al., 2021). These parties have a key role
in determining how a company overcomes a recall. Walmart has to build credibility in the eyes
of the recall as they would help it during the recall.
Further, the CEO should make a video publicly admitting that the report, as unfortunate
as it may have been, had to be acted on hence the recall. The message should be like this, “the
safety of babies is Walmart’s top priority. We are issuing a recall on all Parents choice rice cereal
products in the market set to expire by November 2022. The recall is informed by a report by
FDA showing that the products have high levels of naturally occurring inorganic arsenic.” The
CEO should then go ahead and reassure parents of measures that will be taken to ensure that this
does not happen again. The CEO should have assured parents that the safety of their babies

comes first hence the need for the recall. This information should be sent out through Walmart’s
social media pages as well as on the website.
During the recall, the response team should be ready to respond to customers’ queries and
inform them that they should complete the necessary exchanges. Customers should be given
access to distribution records and shown the batch numbers of products that have been recalled.
They should also be e encouraged to return the product and get a refund. Also, the logistics
teams should have customer records as this will facilitate the traceability of products (Robert et
al., 2022). Customers who are reluctant to return should be contacted directly, and calls made on
social media encouraging everyone to return or discard the product. The company should act in a
manner that communicates the urgency of the recall, as this helps maintain customer confidence.
This helps repair the damage and somehow restore the customer’s trust.
Overall, the recall plan will help the company get through the phase successfully. The
aim is to have the products returned and customers refunded. Article 28 of Directive 75/319/EEC
requires that companies set up structures and a system that is well designed to manage a recall.
Potentially defective products must be reviewed promptly to ensure that immediate and effective
measures are taken to get them out of the market. Thus, a recall plan ensures that the company
complies with regulations governing the recall and that the entire process is conducted as
required. Additionally, the plan will guide the company on measures to take to restore and
strengthen the reputation of the company.

References

Motherhood Community. (2022). Parent’s Choice Formula Recall 2022 & Baby Food Safety
Alerts: What You Need To Know   – Motherhood Community. Retrieved February 21
2022, from https://motherhoodcommunity.com/parents-choice-formula-recall-2021-baby-
food-safety-alerts-what-you-need-to-know/
Robert, T., Quelch, J., & Craig Smith, N. (2022). A Strategic Approach to Managing Product
Recalls. Retrieved February 21 2022, from https://hbr.org/1996/09/a-strategic-approach-
to-managing-product-recalls
Wowak, K. D., Craighead, C. W., Ketchen Jr, D. J., & Connelly, B. L. (2021). Food for thought:
Recalls and outcomes. Journal of Business Logistics.