Rolling out a new product or launching a new brand campaign takes months of meticulous planning, testing, refining and evaluating by a broad internal team before consumers hear one promotional word or glimpse the new product on store shelves. Shouldn’t protecting the reputation of your brand and your company get equal attention?

As recent headlines show, product recalls are coming faster and more frequently than ever before. With the Food and Drug Administration’s enhanced authority through the Food Safety Modernization Act, more and more companies are finding themselves in unfamiliar territory during recalls and product withdrawals. In addition, today’s social sites instantly spread recall news and raise questions about brands, making advance preparation and practice a must for protecting brand reputation.  

IDFA’s one-day recall readiness workshop, held April 3 in Chicago, will cover the essential steps to take immediately and throughout the event. It also will outline company rights and responsibilities, strategies for limiting liability and ways to manage customer and consumer expectations. With presentations and hands-on exercises, participants will learn and then practice time-tested protocols and messages offered by recall experts who work regularly with the food and beverage industry.

The workshop, “Recall Ready? Managing Recalls and Protecting Your Brand,” will be held in conjunction with ProFood Tech, the trade show and conference program for the food and beverage processing industry, which will run April 4-6 in Chicago. Registration for the workshop is available here.

Speakers

“We’ll help you evaluate your company's recall protocols and provide tools that will help your team work effectively and efficiently during the recall event,” said Peggy Armstrong, IDFA vice president of communications and one of the workshop presenters. “We highly recommend this workshop for all employees who would be involved in a product recall, including plant managers, regulatory compliance personnel, research and development employees, quality assurance staff and public relations teams, as well as teams from supplier companies and retailers. This workshop will cover recalls throughout the entire supply chain.” 

In addition to Armstrong, the workshop speakers include Elizabeth Fawell, counsel at Hogan Lovells US LLP; Gene Grabowski, partner at kglobal, a crisis communications and public relations firm; and Cary Frye, IDFA vice president, regulatory and scientific affairs.

Visit the ProFood Tech Pre-conference Workshop page for more details.

Members with questions may contact Armstrong at parmstrong@idfa.org.