Recalls & responsibility
Laura Venker, Alston & Bird: While most food companies have provisions in supply chain contracts that allocate financial responsibility if their product is recalled, it is less common for contracts to address which party bears the risk if an advisory statement is issued that affects the marketability of the product, as happened in November 2018 when FDA and the CDC advised consumers not to eat romaine lettuce and retailers and restaurants not to sell or serve it.
Given FDA’s increased reliance on advisories statements, I expect to see an increased focus on this issue in supply chain agreements, especially for higher-risk foods, in 2019.
