Report: Recall Sprawl Attributed to Geographic Expansion, Large Scale Events

ExpertRecall, an Indianapolis-based consumer goods recall firm, released the findings of its 2013 Index today with the fourth quarter showing an increase the number of critical data points contributing to a "recall sprawl." According to today's reporting, FDA Enforcement Reports documented 134 food recalls in the fourth quarter, down 47 percent from the third quarter of 2013. The date go on to show there were over 10.6 million units of recalled food, representing a 52 percent increase from the third quarter of 2013. According to USDA reports, there were 19 recalls of meat, poultry or processed egg products in the fourth quarter. The USDA recalled approximately 450,000 pounds of food in the first quarter of the year. By the fourth quarter that number grew to more than 860,000. The ExpertRecall Index gathers and tracks cumulative data from the three primary federal agencies that oversee recalls in the United States: the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Recall trends are calculated from FDA enforcement reports and news releases published on agency websites.To learn more about the fourth quarter ExpertRecall Index download the report.