A food recall comes down to one question: for this batch, which ingredient lots went into it, how much did we make, and who did we send it to? If your receiving records are on paper, production is in a spreadsheet and dispatch is in your accounting or inventory system, answering that means three people searching three places and joining the results by hand. A mock recall shows you how long that takes before a real one does. This article explains what Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) expects, where tracing breaks down between systems, and how to link the records so a trace takes minutes. It is not food safety or regulatory advice; check your obligations with FSANZ and your state food authority.
What FSANZ requires and recommends
Under clause 12 of Standard 3.2.2 of the Food Standards Code, a food business that manufactures, wholesales or imports food must:
- have a system to ensure the recall of unsafe food;
- set it out in a written document and make it available to an authorised officer on request; and
- follow that system when recalling unsafe food.
FSANZ's Food Industry Recall Protocol (September 2024 edition) explains what that means in practice. It says these businesses need up-to-date lists of the businesses they supply "as well as which batches of product have gone where". It describes traceability as being able to trace food "one step forward and one step backward at any point in the supply chain": back to your immediate supplier, forward to your immediate customer.
On testing, the protocol says a recall plan should be tested using simulation exercises and recommends a mock recall, including traceability, every year. It also recommends reviewing the recall plan at least annually, and straight away when products, staff, distribution or legal obligations change. Many customers and certification schemes set their own time limits for a trace, so check what yours require.
Recalls are not rare. According to FSANZ, there were 95 food recalls in Australia in 2024 and 92 in 2025. If allergens are your main worry, our post on keeping allergen matrix and label records in step covers the recipe, supplier and label side.
What a trace actually needs
The protocol says traceability records should hold complete and up-to-date histories of all batches, from starting materials to finished product, show the use and disposal of all raw materials, and give enough customer detail to reach everyone who received the product. In practice, a trace for one finished batch needs:
- Backward: every ingredient and packaging lot used in that batch, and the supplier of each.
- The batch itself: how much was made, how much is still in stock, how much was wasted or reworked.
- Forward: every customer who received that batch, how much, when, and to which state or territory.
- The reverse question: if an ingredient lot is the problem, every finished batch that used it.
The protocol also points out that knowing how much was made and how much is still on hand tells you how much is unaccounted for. That is mass balance (checking that what went in matches what came out, including waste), and it is where many mock recalls fail.
Where tracing breaks between systems
In many food businesses those records live in different places:
- Receiving: supplier lot numbers written on a paper goods-in sheet, or not recorded at all.
- Production: a batch sheet or spreadsheet listing ingredients used, sometimes without the lot numbers.
- Stock: an inventory system that tracks quantities but not lots, or tracks lots that were typed in later.
- Dispatch: invoices in the accounting system, with product codes but no batch numbers.
- Waste and rework: a separate log, if it exists.
Each hand-over is a point where information stops before it's needed. Lot numbers are written down at receiving but never typed into the stock system. Batch numbers are printed on the carton but not recorded against the invoice. And joining them up depends on the people who know where each record is, which is a [key person risk](/guides/plain-english-glossary#key-person-risk) (the process only works when one particular person is there).
When the records are retyped from paper into spreadsheets, you also have [double data entry](/guides/plain-english-glossary#double-data-entry) (the same information typed in twice), with the errors that come with it. A wrong digit in a lot number can break a trace completely.
How to make a trace quick and reliable
Capture lot numbers once, at the point they happen
- Receiving: record the supplier, supplier lot, quantity and use-by date when goods arrive, ideally by scanning the label into the stock system.
- Production: record which lots were used in each batch as they are used, not at the end of the shift from memory.
- Dispatch: record the batch shipped on every delivery and invoice line.
Many inventory and production systems can do this; the work is usually setting them up and connecting them, not buying something new.
Connect the records so one batch number links everything
Receiving, production, stock and dispatch should share batch and lot numbers automatically. Where your inventory system and accounting system both hold part of the picture, an [integration](/guides/plain-english-glossary#integration) (the systems passing information to each other automatically) means the invoice already knows the batch. Our business process automation work covers this kind of link.
Clean up the product and supplier records
Duplicate product codes, ingredients set up twice under different names, and suppliers with old details all slow a trace. A one-off clean-up of these records is often the first job; see our data cleansing services.
Run the mock recall on a real batch, and time it
Pick a recent batch at random. Trace it back to ingredient lots and forward to customers, complete the mass balance, and write down how long each step took and where you got stuck. The slow steps show you which hand-over to fix first.
What it looks like when it's fixed
A supplier rings to say a flour lot may be contaminated. The QA manager types the lot number into one screen. It shows the four finished batches that used it, how much of each is still in the warehouse, and every customer who received the rest, with quantities, delivery dates and contact details. The mass balance is already done because receiving, production, waste and dispatch were all recorded against the same batch numbers. The stock on hand is put on hold in the same step. The annual mock recall becomes a routine check rather than a stressful afternoon.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs a food recall plan?
Food businesses that manufacture, wholesale or import food must have a written recall system under Standard 3.2.2. Retailers don't need one unless they also manufacture, wholesale or import. FSANZ provides a recall plan template to use with the Food Industry Recall Protocol.
How often should we run a mock recall?
FSANZ recommends a mock recall, including traceability, at least once a year. Your customers or certification scheme may ask for more often, or set a time limit.
Can we do traceability in Excel?
You can, but every spreadsheet you add is another place information has to be copied into by hand. The risk is not the spreadsheet itself but the gaps between it and your receiving and dispatch records. Linking those records is what makes a trace quick.
What is the difference between a recall and a withdrawal?
A recall removes unsafe food from distribution, sale and consumers. A withdrawal removes food from the supply chain when there is no food safety risk, or the risk has not yet been confirmed, and it does not need to be notified to government. The Food Industry Recall Protocol explains both.
Where to start
Our food and beverage page explains how we work with food manufacturers and distributors on receiving, production and dispatch records. If you want a written map of how a trace runs through your business today and where it breaks, the $5,000 Process & Systems Audit covers it. Or book a free initial chat.
Sources: FSANZ: Food Industry Recall Protocol (September 2024) · FSANZ: food recall statistics · FSANZ: food traceability