Supermarkets and recalls

Psycho Sonny · 13 Dec 2020 at 00:40

Noticed every other day there is usually a recall on a bunch of supermarket goods but what's the actual chances of you reading an article about them if you have happened to buy anything that's been recalled?

Surely it would be better to force a loyalty card type system where you have a store card you must scan and if something is recalled they instantly send you an SMS and an email. Especially if it's potentially dangerous. There would be an opt out option but it would be tedious to the point it forces you to have a card like you require a staff member to sign off that you agree that you don't care about recalls before you can purchase your shopping.

I know that some will say that I don't want supermarkets logging my spending habits or selling on my info, etc. But surely if potentially it could save your life or the life of a loved one it's a trade off that's worth it?

I've just seen a recall on 12 different M&S products and I know I've bought at least one of them in the past.

The current methods of contacting people by randomly getting the media to do it seems like madness. I'm willing to bet hardly anyone even pays attention to recalls because they never even know about them.

I have no idea how I even found this recall page as an example.

https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/customers-urged-immediately-return-12-4792969

I don't even live anywhere near Cornwall.

Surely there must be a better system for awareness and therefore much safer for the public?

Monkeynut · 13 Dec 2020 at 00:45

The recalls also tell you who actually makes some of the stuff. E.g ALDI had some yogurts recalled and the manufacturer was Muller. Which perhaps was no surprise to anyone.

Psycho Sonny · 13 Dec 2020 at 00:58

Monkeynut said:
The recalls also tell you who actually makes some of the stuff. E.g ALDI had some yogurts recalled and the manufacturer was Muller. Which perhaps was no surprise to anyone.

Yeah the majority of recalls I've seen have been aldi but this was m&s and I'm sure I saw ocado the other day.

It just seems like a crazy system where there is potentially harmful products in your home but nobody knows about them because it's impossible to track down who bought them and not easy enough to find out if you have bought one.

I order click and collect a lot so they already know what I'm buying. So it would be easy to implement for click and collect customers and get the info to them that they should bin it and I suppose that they would need to then refund us automatically too. I suppose that's a disincentive to actually be pro active about it.

d_brennen · 13 Dec 2020 at 01:00

Makes shopping more interesting not knowing. A bit like Russian roulette

LeeUK · 13 Dec 2020 at 01:32

When I worked for one of the big 4, "off sale" notices came down on the system every day for stuff. Most of the time it was just a precautionary measure and 9 times out of 10 they were put back on the shelf a week later provided they were still in date.

What you see in the press and mostly the regional online "news" sites from Reach, are nothing more than sensational click bait designed to cause mass hysteria (and advertising revenue).

Hagar · 13 Dec 2020 at 10:16

Shopping is bad enough without some Stasi like check on stuff you may have previously bought and probably already consumed with or without side effects. If it was really that bad for you, you will be in hospital or a coffin and not back in the checkout queue.

robj20 · 13 Dec 2020 at 10:29

Half the time it's something like nuts possibly in something that doesn't say it may contain nuts. So a non issue for most.

Psycho Sonny · 13 Dec 2020 at 14:54

Hagar said:
Shopping is bad enough without some Stasi like check on stuff you may have previously bought and probably already consumed with or without side effects. If it was really that bad for you, you will be in hospital or a coffin and not back in the checkout queue.

What about when the guy was putting razor blades in baby food? I know the worst scenario but it did happen. There's also been cases of baby formula making babies sick due to a bad batch.

I'm just saying surely they should have a better system. Sure the chances are slim but mistakes do happen and so does sabotage/terrorism. In this day and age they should be able to be better at tracing and contacting people. Just shows how inept and the focus is always on profit margins to line the pockets of already super rich companies who's owners are billionaires.

Dis86 · 13 Dec 2020 at 15:02

Psycho Sonny said:
Noticed every other day there is usually a recall on a bunch of supermarket goods but what's the actual chances of you reading an article about them if you have happened to buy anything that's been recalled?

First paragraph answers your own question...

Hagar · 13 Dec 2020 at 15:03

Psycho Sonny said:
What about when the guy was putting razor blades in baby food? I know the worst scenario but it did happen. There's also been cases of baby formula making babies sick due to a bad batch.

I'm just saying surely they should have a better system. Sure the chances are slim but mistakes do happen and so does sabotage/terrorism. In this day and age they should be able to be better at tracing and contacting people. Just shows how inept and the focus is always on profit margins to line the pockets of already super rich companies who's owners are billionaires.

Sure for cases of blackmail, eco-terrorism etc. But the idea of compulsory checking of people on what they have bought on this and previous occasions just because we could if we made everybody use a card is horrible. I don't use tesco because they use offers to entice people to have a club card. I do use Morrisons but don't have their card possibly missing out on 'valuable points'.

LeeUK · 13 Dec 2020 at 15:39

What if you shop at different places and/or also small independent shops etc. The idea of swiping a card and being told the item you bought last week had been recalled relies on you shopping at the same shop week in week out.

explicit4u · 13 Dec 2020 at 20:19

Shouldn't be limited to supermarkets, include stuff like electronics and white goods in it too.

I used to put up the recall notices in the supermarket I worked at, most will have a dedicated location for them and I usually stop and check to see if anything I have is on there. It's mostly pointless and I'd imagine purely for legal reasons, most of the time I see a notice i've already consumed the product. Not a big deal when it comes to cross contamination and allergy stuff (most notices), a little worrying when it's 'Product recalled as metal shards have been found in multiple batches...'.

FoxEye · 13 Dec 2020 at 21:37

I quite enjoyed the horsemeat burgers.

Psycho Sonny · 13 Dec 2020 at 22:29

explicit4u said:
Shouldn't be limited to supermarkets, include stuff like electronics and white goods in it too.

I used to put up the recall notices in the supermarket I worked at, most will have a dedicated location for them and I usually stop and check to see if anything I have is on there. It's mostly pointless and I'd imagine purely for legal reasons, most of the time I see a notice i've already consumed the product. Not a big deal when it comes to cross contamination and allergy stuff (most notices), a little worrying when it's 'Product recalled as metal shards have been found in multiple batches...'.

You make a good point. I remember the was it Hotpoint tumble dryers or washing machine scandal where they ended up swapping them out for a brand new one and even gave you the option to spend a few quid more for an upgrade.

But you had to contact them iirc rather than retailers contacting you.

Hagar · 14 Dec 2020 at 01:28

Psycho Sonny said:
You make a good point. I remember the was it Hotpoint tumble dryers or washing machine scandal where they ended up swapping them out for a brand new one and even gave you the option to spend a few quid more for an upgrade.

But you had to contact them iirc rather than retailers contacting you.

Yes, and why not do it for all the online shopping that you do. That would complete the loop nicely.

Just type in the long card number which identifies you as the shopper and we will complete the sale for you shortly, checking if you have purchased any items which have a recall on them...

Ooh, did you know that lurex onesie you bought has a dodgy breathing tube?

/joking.

Ryan-3 · 14 Dec 2020 at 08:34

FoxEye said:
I quite enjoyed the horsemeat burgers.

At least once we found out, we knew exactly what was in them!

Ahleckz · 14 Dec 2020 at 09:42

It sounds like this could be done via an app that the manufacturers report to. It would mean the consumer having to download it, but at least then it would ensure the recall alerts are getting sent.

No idea how awkward it would be logistically but seems an easyish solution. I went to Sainsbury’s last week, because it was nearby where I was and had an hour free. There’s no chance I’ll go back to that shop anytime soon so would be none the wiser if there was a recall. If I had the ‘recall app’ then I’d be told about all recalls...

But, all being said I’ve never once returned an item to a supermarket due to a recall and don’t worry over recalls.

Street · 14 Dec 2020 at 10:30

A few years back, I bought some garden chairs from Wilko which were recalled as they were breaking when people sat on them. Wilko contacted us about it but I've no idea how they got our details, I assume from the credit card somehow.

They gave us the option of returning them to a store and refunding us or promising I'd dispose of them and refunding. I took the refund and thought it must just be fatties breaking them as they felt fairly solid. I sat on one to test it and went straight through it so the rest went in the bin!

Liquidfox · 14 Dec 2020 at 14:02

Psycho Sonny said:
Surely it would be better to force a loyalty card type system where you have a store card you must scan and if something is recalled they instantly send you an SMS and an email.

What happens when you go to the store and you've forgot your card? No shopping for you? Or a tedious process of going through questions and proving your address so they can manually add every item to your list? Imagine the queues building up.

jon86 · 15 Dec 2020 at 13:16

Costco has a membership system and it's a complete non-issue. You supply an email address when you create a Costco membership and that's what they use to email you about any recalled products that they know that you've bought. Everyone also knows that you need (to show) your membership card when you shop in the stores, so bringing your card to shop is also a non-issue. I've not heard of anyone getting into an argument about wanting to shop without their membership card; maybe it does happen, but it's probably an exceptional occurrence.

EDIT: With Costco, you're actually paying for a yearly membership to shop in their stores (and online). Shock horror!

For us, it's totally worth the $55 yearly fee, even though we buy 90% of our groceries from ALDI.