All Plans
Mock Recalls
A fire drill for product recalls. Pretend a batch — or an ingredient lot from a supplier — is contaminated, find every affected batch and every customer who received it, and record how long it took. Nothing is changed and nobody is contacted: it is practice, and the proof your auditor asks for.
6 min read
All plan tiers
Batches → Mock Recalls
Last updated: October 2026
What you'll need
- Recalls: read and Trade Partners: read permission to see mock recalls (a trace lists your customers)
- Recalls: create (or manage) permission to start, complete or cancel one
- Batch inputs recorded on the Genealogy tab, and shipments recorded on each batch's Shipments tab — the drill can only find what has been recorded
- Optional: your FDA establishment number and GLN in Entity Settings, for the FDA spreadsheet
What is a mock recall?
In a real recall you must quickly answer two questions: where did this come from? (which supplier lots went into it) and where did it go? (which batches were made from it, and which distributors and shops received them). A mock recall asks those questions on an ordinary day, with a clock running, so you find the missing records before a real emergency does.
Food-safety auditors (FSSAI, BRCGS, SQF, FSSC 22000) usually expect one or two mock recalls a year, with the time taken and what was found. Meiver keeps that record for you.
1
Start a drill
Go to Batches → Mock Recalls and choose where to start: a supplier ingredient lot — type part of the lot code (for example CR-2) and pick it from the matches — or one of your batches. Click Start drill: the clock starts immediately.
Start from a supplier lot to practise the most common real case: a supplier calls to say one of their lots is contaminated.
2
Read the trace
The drill page works the trace out for you. The four numbers at the top are batches affected, customers to contact, shipments and gaps found. Below them: Backward (every ingredient lot and input batch, with the supplier), Affected batches (the starting batch and everything made from it), Forward (every customer with contact details and what they received) and Quantity accounted for (produced, shipped, used in other batches, still in stock).
3
Fix gaps (optional)
Gaps are records that would slow a real recall down — for example a delivered batch with no shipments recorded, or a customer with no phone or email. You can fix them while the clock runs (record the shipment, add the contact, approve the supplier) and press Refresh trace. Or just write them down in the notes and fix them afterwards.
Fixing gaps during the drill is fine — the time taken shows how long it really takes your team to get to a complete answer.
4
Complete the drill
When you have every affected batch and customer, write your findings and follow-up actions in Notes and click Complete drill — stop the clock. The time taken is saved, and the whole trace is frozen with a fingerprint (SHA-256), so the record you show an auditor never changes afterwards.
A completed drill never updates. If you fix something later, run a new mock recall to see the improved result.
5
Keep the proof
Report (print / PDF) — a printable summary for your food-safety file. History — every drill with its date, time taken, batches, customers and gaps on the Mock Recalls page. FDA 24-hour spreadsheet — the same trace as an Excel file in the format the US FDA asks for under FSMA 204 (only needed if you export to the USA).
The FDA spreadsheet is also on every real recall: Recall → Export → FDA 24-hour spreadsheet.
Gaps explained
- No shipments recorded — a batch is Ready or Delivered but nothing says where it went. Record its shipments on the batch's Shipments tab.
- More shipped or used than produced — the quantities don't add up. Check the batch quantity and the shipments.
- Quantity unknown — the batch has no quantity, or quantities are in different units, so you can't prove every unit is accounted for.
- No supplier / supplier not linked — a lot has no supplier, or the supplier was typed as text. Pick the supplier from the list, or use Suppliers → Link old supplier names.
- Supplier not OK to buy from — the supplier is not approved or a certificate has expired. Approve them or upload the renewed certificate on their supplier profile. Once fixed, the gap clears; the lot keeps a grey “flagged when recorded” tag as history.
- Customer without contact details — no email or phone. Add them under Settings → Trade Partners.
- Trace size limit — very large traces are capped; contact support if you see this.
Mock recall vs real recall
A mock recall is read-only: no batch is marked Recalled, nothing appears on the consumer QR page, and no consumer or customer is emailed.
A real recall (Batches → Recalls) changes the batch status, shows the recall notice on the QR page, and lets you email consumers and customers.
Both use the same trace, so a good mock recall result means a real recall will find the same batches and customers.
Troubleshooting
Common issues & FAQs
I started a mock recall by mistake+
Click Cancel drill. It stays in the history as Cancelled; nothing else is affected.
Mock Recalls is missing from the menu+
You need Recalls: read permission. The page also needs Trade Partners: read, because a trace lists customers. Ask a tenant admin.
The supplier lot search finds nothing+
The search looks at supplier lot codes recorded on batch inputs (Genealogy tab → Add input → supplier lot). Lots that were never recorded can't be found.
Customers to contact is 0+
No shipments are recorded for the affected batches. Record them on each batch's Shipments tab — this is the most common gap.
I fixed a gap but it still shows+
If the drill is still running, click Refresh trace. If it is completed, the result is frozen on purpose — run a new mock recall.
How often should we run one?+
Most certification schemes expect at least once a year; many teams do one every six months, alternating between a supplier lot and a finished batch.
What is a good time?+
Many schemes expect a complete trace within 2–4 hours, and the US FDA asks for records within 24 hours. With shipments and inputs recorded in Meiver, a drill typically takes minutes.