Manufacturers 'face risk of reputational damage if they fail to act over listeria product recalls'

Following today's news that thousands of Cadbury desserts made by Müller are being recalled following a food poisoning alert, Partner Mamata Dutta, legal director at international law firm RPC, said:

"The decision whether to implement a product recall can be a difficult one for manufacturers, and is one that is taken after careful consideration of the risk that has been identified. 

"There are also additional costs associated with the potential reputational damage that might result from a recall. 

"However, any such damage is likely to be dwarfed by the potential reputational damage that may follow if there is a series of incidents caused by the product, which would be exacerbated if it came to light that there was knowledge of the issue without any action being taken. 

"The recent decisions to recall batches of cheese and chocolate products due to the potential presence of listeria have led to significant recalls of both of these food products. However, this reflects the potential risk posed by exposure to listeria. 

"While they may cause minor symptoms in the average adult, there may be significant repercussions for children and the elderly, with the potential that exposure could cause fatalities, particularly for those in vulnerable groups. 

"This underlines the reason why product recalls are so important, together with the need to appropriately publicise them both generally as well as at the point of sale, so that consumers who purchased the products are more likely to be made aware of the need to dispose of or return the product."