Rückruf- und Entschädigungskosten durch Verkauf abgelaufener Lebensmittel

Definition

Standard 3.2.2 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code sets out food safety practices requiring that only safe and suitable food is sold, with appropriate storage, stock control, and protection from contamination.[7] The Australian Cold Chain Guidelines emphasise that minimising food illness and waste is critical and that poor management of perishable cold-chain foods leads to major losses.[8][5] If a retailer’s rotation process allows expired or temperature-abused items onto shelves, they may need to withdraw products, provide refunds and replacements, and face increased inspection and compliance costs. While specific dollar figures for individual supermarkets are rarely published, case studies of foodborne illness incidents in Australia indicate that even localised issues can affect hundreds of customers, with direct costs (refunds, disposal of stock, overtime labour, legal and advisory fees) easily entering the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for a medium chain. For a typical mid-size retailer, one significant expiry or temperature-control incident every few years could reasonably involve 5–20 tonnes of affected product (AUD 50,000–200,000 cost of goods), plus refunds and labour (AUD 20,000–100,000), yielding a total incident cost in the AUD 70,000–300,000 range, excluding reputational damage. Smaller but more frequent incidents (e.g., isolated expired products discovered by customers) create ongoing refund and goodwill costs and erode margins.

Why This Matters

The Pitch: Australian grocery players risk AUD 10,000–500,000 per incident in refunds, investigation costs, and lost stock when poor expiry and rotation controls allow unsafe products onto shelves. Implementing automated date tracking, FEFO-guided picking, and exception alerts reduces the probability and scale of such quality incidents.

Affected Stakeholders

Quality Assurance Manager, Store Manager, Food Safety Officer, Supply Chain / Logistics Manager, Category Manager (Chilled/Fresh), Compliance Manager

Related Business Risks