Responding to a product safety issue

Remove the product from sale across all channels -- physical stores, warehouses, and online listings. Contact every business in your supply chain and instruct them to do the same. Segregate affected stock clearly but do not destroy it -- enforcement authorities may need it as evidence.

Identify the batch codes, model numbers, and estimated number of units in circulation. Determine the nature of the hazard: is this a design flaw, a manufacturing defect, or a labelling error? The severity and scope of the problem will determine what level of corrective action is required.

You have a legal duty to notify your local Trading Standards authority as soon as you become aware of the risk. "As soon as" means within hours, not days. You can -- and should -- notify while still gathering information. An initial notification followed by fuller details is perfectly acceptable. Do not wait until you have a complete picture.

For products posing a serious risk, also notify the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) directly. They coordinate national responses and can support you through the recall process.

There are three levels of corrective action, in ascending order of severity:

• Warning: Inform consumers of the risk while allowing continued use with precautions
• Withdrawal: Remove the product from the supply chain before it reaches further consumers
• Recall: Retrieve products already in consumers' hands -- required for serious risks

Cooperate fully with Trading Standards on the appropriate level of action. Prepare a clear recall notice that identifies the affected product, explains the hazard in plain language, instructs consumers to stop using it, and offers a remedy at no cost to them.

Once the immediate crisis is contained, conduct a thorough root cause analysis. Determine whether the issue originated in design, manufacturing, quality control, or supply chain management. Update your conformity assessment procedures and technical documentation to address the gap.

Notify your products liability insurer if you have not already done so -- most policies require prompt notification as a condition of cover. Keep all recall documentation for at least 10 years, as product liability claims can be brought for up to a decade after supply.