Having the right type of restaurant insurance coverage is key to protecting your business in the event of a food recall. That's because food recalls have become a major concern for restaurant owners and others in the food businesses in recent years.

The number of recalls has nearly doubled since 2002, costing many of these affected businesses more than $10 million for each incident, with some going as high as $100 million. Most of that money is spent on product disposal costs, business interruptions, and customer reimbursements. And those figures do not include the reputational damage that lowers profits for food producers.

A 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture indicated that nearly nine million people were sickened by contaminated food that year, costing the U.S. public health system a stunning $15 billion in hospitalization costs and lost wages.

Food recalls are triggered for several reasons, nearly half of which are for microbiological contamination. Another 25% come from incorrect or missing labelling. Defective packaging, physical and chemical contamination, and unapproved ingredients round out the list. 

Food Product Recalls and Restaurants

As a restaurant owner, it’s imperative that you keep on top of all food recall information – from both the FDA and the USDA. You can do that by regularly checking www.foodsafety.gov. You can also get recall information sent right to your email inbox or by uploading an app.

If you discover that there is a recall on a product that you serve, check to see if the items you have in stock are part of that recall. Then, find out the reason for the recall. As we mentioned, food can be recalled for everything from microbiological contamination to inaccurate ingredient labeling. If you do have recalled product, identify and separate those products. Finally, contact the manufacturer to determine whether to return or throw away the recalled product and to ask for a refund.

Contaminated foods can have a devastating effect on a food manufacturer or restaurant’s reputation. Also, consumers who have been poisoned by contaminated food can file claims for financial compensation. All of this points to restaurant insurance as a means of mitigating the financial impact of a recall. There are several possible solutions:

Product Liability Insurance provides compensation of justified third-party claims and defense costs for injury caused by a contaminated food product.

Product Recall Insurance reimburses expenses for the recall of any food product that was accidentally contaminated or labelled incorrectly and resulted in sickness, disease or death. It covers the company’s expenses related to the recall such as notification, testing, disposal, product replacement, and reimbursement of the purchase price.

Contaminated Product Insurance pays expenses that are associated with accidental contamination, malicious contamination, or product extortion demands. Specific losses that are covered include recall expenses, pre-incident consulting, post-incident crisis management, third-party expenses, loss of gross profit, and rehabilitation expenses.

Get the Right Restaurant Insurance for Your Peace of Mind 

Each of these types of insurance addresses a specific need. Click here to contact us or give us a call at (800) 947-1270 or (610) 775-3848 to find the right insurance solution for your company based on your risk exposure and the level of protection that you need.