21 CFR 117.139 Recall Plan
Overview:
21 CFR 117.139 requires food facilities with hazards needing preventive controls to establish a written recall plan.
This plan must include steps for notifying consignees, informing the public when necessary, conducting effectiveness checks, and disposing of recalled food appropriately.
For food with a hazard requiring a preventive control:
(a)
You must establish a written recall plan for the food.
(b)
The written recall plan must include procedures that describe the steps to be taken, and assign responsibility for taking those steps, to perform the following actions as appropriate to the facility:
(1) Directly notify the direct consignees of the food being recalled, including how to return or dispose of the affected food;
(2) Notify the public about any hazard presented by the food when appropriate to protect public health;
(3) Conduct effectiveness checks to verify that the recall is carried out; and
(4) Appropriately dispose of recalled food—e.g., through reprocessing, reworking, diverting to a use that does not present a safety concern, or destroying the food.
