# Mock-Recall Log

A blank, fillable log for one mock recall. You pick one lot, trace it backward
to its inputs and forward to its customers, and write down what the trace could
and could not show. Reach for it before your next audit, when you bring on a new
product or supplier, or on the schedule your certification asks for — so the
first time you run the trace is not during a real recall.

A mock recall is how you find the holes in your records while nothing is on the
line. SQF Edition 9 requires that you review, test, and verify the recall and
withdrawal system at least once a year, and that the test cover incoming
materials (one step back to the supplier) and finished product (one step forward
to the customer). Run it whether the real event would be a recall or a market
withdrawal; the trace is the same either way.

- SQF Food Safety Code, Edition 9: https://www.sqfi.com/our-program/certification-programs/food-safety-program
- Recall vs. market withdrawal, defined by FDA in 21 CFR 7.3: https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/21/7.3
- A mock recall is a practice run of your recall procedure: you pick a real lot and trace it backward to its inputs and forward to its customers, without any product actually being pulled from the market.
- Mass balance is the reconciliation of how much of a lot you produced against how much you can still account for across every disposition.
- Fill every blank and replace the example rows with your own. Keep the finished log — the record that the test happened is itself what the auditor checks.

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## Exercise header

What you are simulating, and the lot you are tracing.

| Field | Entry |
| --- | --- |
| Facility | |
| Date of exercise | |
| Scenario (what triggered this mock recall) | |
| Product | |
| Target lot / lot code | |
| Quantity of the target lot produced | |
| Production date of the target lot | |
| Exercise led by (name, role) | |
| Others on the exercise | |

## Timing

Record when the trace actually started and finished. SQF Edition 9 sets no fixed
time limit for a mock recall — the "complete the trace in 2 to 4 hours" bar
operators talk about comes from customers and from other schemes such as BRCGS,
not from the SQF code. Measure your real elapsed time and compare it against what
your own customers require.

| Field | Entry |
| --- | --- |
| Trace started (date, time) | |
| Trace finished (date, time) | |
| Total elapsed time | |

## Backward trace — one step back

Every input that went into the target lot, and the supplier and supplier lot it
came from. This is the "one step back" the standard tests.

| Input or ingredient | Supplier | Supplier lot / code | Quantity used | Received (date) | Receiving record reference |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (example) Cocoa powder | Andes Cacao Co. | LOT-8842 | 40 kg | ____ | Receiving log 2026-06-14 |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |

## Forward trace — one step forward

Every customer the target lot shipped to, and how much went to each. This is the
"one step forward."

| Customer | Ship-to location | Quantity shipped | Ship date | Invoice / BOL reference | Contacted? (for a real recall) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (example) Harbor Foods Distribution | ____ | 220 cases | ____ | BOL-5571 | N/A — mock |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |

## Mass balance

Reconcile what you made against what you can account for. Everything from the
target lot has to land somewhere — shipped, on hand, on hold, sampled, or
destroyed. The share you can account for is your mass balance.

| Disposition | Quantity |
| --- | --- |
| Produced (target lot total) | |
| Shipped to customers | |
| On hand in inventory | |
| On QA hold | |
| Used as samples or testing | |
| Waste or destroyed | |
| Total accounted for | |
| Percent accounted for (accounted ÷ produced × 100) | |

A trace that accounts for well under 100% means product moved without a record.
That is a gap to log below, not a rounding error to wave off.

## Gaps found

Where the trace stalled, a record was missing, or the numbers did not reconcile.

| # | Gap — what the trace could not show, or where a record was missing | Where in the trace |
| --- | --- | --- |
| (example) 1 | Two pallets shipped with no lot recorded on the BOL | Forward trace |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |

## Corrective actions

One row per gap. Name the fix, who owns it, when it is due, and when it was
confirmed done.

| Gap # | Corrective action | Owner | Due date | Verified complete (date) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| (example) 1 | Add lot capture to the shipping BOL step; retrain shift | ____ | ____ | ____ |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | |

## Sign-off

The recall system is only proven when someone accountable reviews the result and
schedules the next test. Run this at least once a year, and again after any
change to a product, supplier, or process.

| Field | Entry |
| --- | --- |
| Exercise reviewed by (name, role) | |
| System effective? (Y / N) | |
| Date reviewed | |
| Next scheduled test | |