Product recall procedure: 8 ways to automate

What a product recall procedure covers

A product recall procedure is the set of steps a business follows to get an unsafe or faulty product off sale and away from customers, and the product recall check is the part each site does. Someone at the site finds every unit from the recalled batches, takes it off sale, quarantines it, and records that it is done.

Where the notice comes from depends on the product. For food, the Food Standards Agency publishes each recall and withdrawal with the product, the pack size and the batch codes. Its guidance on withdrawals and recalls explains the difference: a withdrawal takes unsafe food off sale before it reaches consumers, and a recall also tells consumers what to do with food they have already bought. A food business that thinks food it has supplied is unsafe should withdraw or recall it straight away and tell its local authority. For medicines and medical devices, the MHRA publishes drug and device alerts and recalls. For other consumer goods, such as toys, electricals and household products, GOV.UK lists product safety alerts, reports and recalls.

What the law asks of the business selling it

For a product recall in the UK, the rules for general consumer goods sit in the General Product Safety Regulations 2005. Regulation 8 says a distributor, which includes a shop, must not supply a product it knows or should have presumed is dangerous. It must also pass on information about the risk, keep the documents needed to trace where a product came from, and cooperate with the action a producer or enforcement authority takes. Those rules apply in Great Britain. Northern Ireland follows the EU General Product Safety Regulation, and in 2026 the government consulted on a new product safety framework to modernise them.

For the site, the job is the same whichever notice it is. The notice usually reaches head office or the person who receives deliveries, and the people who fill the shelves can be the last to hear. That is where recalled stock gets missed.

This page covers that site check. It does not cover how you trace a batch back through your suppliers, which is the traceability side of the work.

#1 - The site recall check

Who it's for: One site clearing a recalled product.

What it is: A site recall check is one record, on a phone, of a single site clearing a single recall. It asks which recall, which site, and the batch numbers and dates on the notice. Then seven checks: every shelf and display, the stockroom and overflow, any fridges or freezers, stock waiting for delivery or online orders, every matching unit removed, the removed stock quarantined, and the team told. Last, how many units came off and anything that was not done. Each site leaves the same record of the same recall.

In practice: A single convenience store gets a recall notice for a brand of baby wipes, two batch codes. The manager types the product and reference, copies the batch codes, and walks the store. She finds six packs on the shelf and four in the stockroom, ticks each check as she goes, and writes 10 units removed. She notes that the shop does no online orders. The recall is done and written down in one pass.

Why it works: A recall fails in the places nobody thought to look. Seven ticks name those places, and the batch numbers on the same record mean the person searching checks the codes on the pack, so a site doesn't pull the wrong stock or leave the right stock out.

Steps included:

• 1 text input (which recall)
• 1 text input (which site)
• 1 text input (batch numbers and dates)
• 1 checklist (7 checks on where you looked and what you did)
• 1 number input (units removed)
• 1 text input (anything not done)

When to upgrade:

1. Someone other than you does the search, such as night staff or a shelf filler
2. You need to show the stock was quarantined
3. A manager must confirm the recall is done
4. The same recall runs across several sites

#2 - With guidance above the checks

Who it's for: Sites where shelf fillers and night staff do the search.

What it is: The same check, with two guidance panels above it. The first says how to clear the recall: match the product, size and batch numbers to the notice before you start, look everywhere the product could be, and remove every matching unit even if it looks fine. The second says how to quarantine: keep it together, away from saleable stock, labelled do not sell with the recall reference and date, and don't bin it or send it back until told how. The person on the night shift clears it the way you would.

In practice: A garden centre sees a GOV.UK product safety alert for a batch of children's paddling pools late in the afternoon. The night team does the search. One of them has never handled a recall. He reads the two panels, checks the batch codes against the notice, and finds a pallet still shrink-wrapped in the goods-in bay that the shop floor search would have missed.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. Where to look and how to match batch codes, above the checks
2. How to quarantine the stock, so it can't drift back onto a shelf
3. The same standard whoever is on shift

Why it works: The guidance is on the screen when the search starts. The people who fill the shelves often get the least warning about a recall, and this puts the method in their hands at the moment they need it.

Batch matching is where most searches go wrong. The notice gives a pack size, a batch or lot code, and often a best before or use by date, and only units that match all of them are in scope. Check the code printed on the pack, not the shelf label. Stock that does not match stays on sale, so the panel asks the searcher to read each code rather than clear the whole line.

Steps included:

• 1 guidance panel (how to clear this recall)
• 1 guidance panel (how to quarantine the stock)
• The six steps from #1

When to upgrade: When you need to show the stock was taken off sale (#3).

#3 - With a photo of the quarantined stock

Who it's for: Businesses that need to show the stock was taken off sale.

What it is: The guided check, with a photo step right after the checks. The person takes one photo of the removed stock in quarantine, with the do not sell label in the shot. The photo sits on the same record as the batch numbers and the count. You can see the stock is off sale without visiting.

In practice: A pharmacy group's branch clears a batch of a cold remedy named in an MHRA recall. The assistant puts 14 packs in a labelled box in the dispensary and photographs it. When the area manager reviews the recall that evening, she can see the box, the label and the count at that branch.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A photo of the quarantined stock, taken during the check
2. The label in the picture, so it is clear the stock is held
3. Something to set against the count

Why it works: A tick says the stock is in quarantine. The photo shows where. If a supplier, an insurer or an inspector later asks what happened to that batch at that site, the answer is a dated picture.

Take it so the label and the recall reference can be read, and the stock can be counted. If the stock is held in more than one place, photograph each one. Quarantined stock usually waits for the supplier or manufacturer to say whether it goes back or is destroyed, so leave it where it is until then. The photo shows nobody has quietly put it back on a shelf in the meantime.

Steps included:

• The guided check from #2
• 1 photo (the quarantined stock)

When to upgrade: When a manager must confirm the recall is done (#4).

#4 - With signatures on the checks

Who it's for: Sites where a manager must confirm the recall is done.

What it is: The photo check, with two signatures at the end. The person who cleared the shelves signs that they did the search and the record is right. The manager on duty signs once they have seen the quarantined stock and read the record. Every site's recall has a name against it.

In practice: A hotel group's supplier recalls a batch of sandwich fillings and emails the group's purchasing team. At each hotel, the kitchen porter searches the walk-in fridge and the breakfast bar, quarantines what he finds, and signs. The duty chef checks the quarantine shelf and signs too.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A signature from the person who did the search
2. A signature from the manager who checked it
3. A closed record of who confirmed the site was clear

Why it works: The second signature means someone in charge has looked at the quarantine shelf as well as the form. If the recall ever comes up again, you know who to ask at each site.

In the hotel's case the supplier runs the recall. FSA guidance expects a food business that thinks food it supplied is unsafe to withdraw or recall it and tell the local authority, and here that business is the supplier. The hotel's part is to act on the notice quickly, take the batch out of use, and keep a record it can send back. The manager should sign against the stock, not just the form. If they can't see it in person, they sign against the photo from #3.

Steps included:

• The photo check from #3
• 1 signature (cleared by)
• 1 signature (manager on duty)

When to upgrade: When the same recall runs across several sites and each should see how the others got on (#5).

#5 - With earlier checks for this recall on screen

Who it's for: Groups running the same recall across several sites.

What it is: The signed photo check, with a Pilla briefing on the "which recall" step. Pilla looks up the earlier checks for the same recall. It tells the person which sites have finished, how many units each found, and anything those sites said they could not do. Each site starts with what the others already found.

In practice: A 20-store retailer recalls an own-brand snack. By midday, 12 stores have finished. The thirteenth store's supervisor opens the check and Pilla tells her that two stores found stock in their click and collect cages. She checks hers first and finds three bags.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. The earlier checks for this recall, before the search starts
2. How many units other sites found
3. The places other sites missed or could not check

Why it works: The first sites to finish learn where the stock hides. The briefing passes that on to the sites that haven't started yet.

It also shows a group its weak spots. If most stores found stock in the same place, such as the click and collect cage or the returns shelf, that place belongs in the guidance panel for the next recall. And it helps the person running the recall answer the supplier quickly: how many units were found, at which sites, and how many are still not accounted for. A distributor has to cooperate with the producer's action under the product safety rules, and a clear count is the most useful thing it can send back.

Steps included:

• The signed photo check from #4
• 1 Pilla briefing of earlier checks for this recall, on the "which recall" step

When to upgrade: When stock that is still out needs a full account (#6).

#6 - With more detail when stock is left

Who it's for: Teams that need to know exactly what is still on sale.

What it is: The same check, with a Pilla rule on the "anything not done" note. If the note says matching stock could not be found, removed or quarantined, that some was already sold, or that a place was not checked, the next step opens. It asks what stock is left, exactly where, how many units, and why. If the note says everything was done, the step stays out of the way. Any stock left on sale comes with the detail to fix it.

In practice: At a builders' merchant, a recall comes in for a batch of extension leads. The yard team can't get to a pallet behind a delivery. The note says so, the follow-up opens, and the assistant writes that 24 units are on the top rack in bay 6, blocked until the forklift is free after 3pm.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A follow-up that opens only when something is not done
2. What is left, where, how many, and why
3. No extra step when the site is clear

Why it works: "Couldn't reach some" doesn't tell anyone what to do. Bay 6, 24 units, after 3pm does. The follow-up gets that detail while the person is standing next to the stock.

Stock that can't be moved yet still has to stop being sold. The safety rules say a shop must not supply a product it knows is dangerous, so the follow-up asks what was done in the meantime, such as a sign, a barrier or a block at the till.

Steps included:

• The check with earlier sites on screen, from #5
• 1 Pilla rule on the "anything not done" note
• 1 follow-up step in the chain (what is still not done)

When to upgrade: When the person running the recall should hear about the gap straight away (#7).

#7 - With a direct message about the gap

Who it's for: The person who set the recall check up.

What it is: When the follow-up step is filled in, Pilla sends a direct message to the person who set the automation up. It names the site, the product and the recall reference, and what the follow-up says is still not done. A site that cleared everything sends nothing. You hear about recalled stock still on sale the same day.

In practice: The builders' merchant's operations manager gets a direct message about bay 6 while she is at another branch. She rings the yard and asks them to put a do not sell sign on the rack until the forklift is free. The other branches, all clear, send nothing.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A direct message after the follow-up step
2. The site, the recall, and what is still not done
3. Nothing sent when the site is clear

Why it works: A recall gap is urgent and a record waits to be read. The message goes to the person who can act, and only when there is something to act on.

That is the person who set the recall check up, so set it up as whoever runs recalls, usually the operations or compliance lead. They decide whether to block the product at the till, ring the supplier, or send someone to help. If any of the stock may already have reached customers, the supplier will ask for that detail, and for food so may the local authority. The message carries it in one place, with the site, the batch and the count, so nobody has to ring round to piece it together.

Steps included:

• The follow-up check from #6
• 1 direct message, sent when the follow-up is completed

When to upgrade: When the bigger risk is a site that never starts the check (#8).

#8 - With a chase if a site is late

Who it's for: Groups that need proof every site has cleared the recall.

What it is: The same check, plus a chase if a site has not finished it by the deadline. Pilla messages you, the person who set the check up, naming the site. A site that finished on time does not trigger one. A site that has not done the recall is chased before anyone else finds the stock.

In practice: A 20-store retailer gives every store until 6pm to clear a recall. At 6pm, two stores have not finished. You get a message for each. One manager was off sick and nobody else had seen the notice. The store clears the shelf that evening.

What it adds to the previous template:

1. A deadline on the recall check
2. A chase for each site that has not finished
3. No message for sites that finished on time

Why it works: The rest of the check only helps at sites that start it. The notice often reaches head office first, and a site with its manager off sick may never see it. The chase comes to you, not to the site, because you are the one who can ring whoever is on shift there.

Set the deadline by the risk. A food recall where customers could be harmed needs clearing within hours, not by the end of the week. A deadline at close of trading still leaves a full day of sales, so pick a time that makes sense for the product. Sites that finished on time send nothing, so the chases you get are a list of the sites to ring.

Steps included:

• The check from #7, including the direct message when stock is left
• 1 chase if the site has not finished by the deadline

When to upgrade: This is the full route. Use an earlier version if you do not want the message or the chase.

How to pick the right version

You don't need to know the product to choose. You need to know who does the search, what proof you need, and how many sites are involved.

Is it just you, or do other people do the search?

If you clear every recall yourself, #1 is enough. Once shelf fillers, night staff or kitchen porters do it, put the method above the checks: #2.

Do you need a photo, or are the ticks enough?

Ticks are enough if nobody will ask. But if a supplier, insurer or inspector may want to see the stock was held, add the photo: #3.

Does a manager need to sign?

If the record is only for you, stop at #3. If someone in charge has to confirm each site is clear, add the signatures: #4.

After that, the choice is about running one recall across many sites. If each site should see what the others found, use #5. If stock left on sale should open a step that collects the detail, use #6. If you want a direct message after that step, use #7. If the real risk is a site that never starts, use #8.

Related workflows

• Stock rotation - keeping older stock at the front and out of date stock off the shelf
• Stock count - counting what is on the shelves and in the stockroom
• Delivery received - checking goods in when they arrive
• Food delivery check - temperatures, dates and packaging on food deliveries
• Allergen management - keeping allergen information right across the menu

Conclusion

A product recall procedure gets unsafe or faulty stock off sale, and the product recall check is the proof each site has done its part: the batches, every place searched, the count, and the quarantine. Start with the seven checks, add a photo and signatures when you need proof, and add Pilla when one recall runs across many sites. Open any version in the playground and have it ready before the next notice arrives.