Supplier Complaints

Occasionally things can go wrong and there will be a need to investigate what has happened. Sometimes the problem can have originated at the unit, however sometimes it is likely to be related to our supplier.

Foreign body complaints originating from suppliers should be logged on the AIR system.

Please take clear photos of the foreign body and upload them to the AIR report.

The photos should be of the following:

  • Foreign body in the product or where originally found
  • Foreign body removed from the product against a ruler to show the size/ dimensions (Please take photos from different angles if not obvious what it is)
  • Photos of the ingredient packaging if available showing all the product traceability information i.e. Best Before, Use by & Batch codes.

Please DO NOT send the foreign body in the post until you are advised by the Vendor Assurance team of where to post it.  Instead, please store the foreign body in the freezer labelled with the AIR reference and mark ‘NOT FOR CONSUMPTION’.

The Vendor Assurance team will contact the supplier with the photographs and details of the complaint asking them to carry out an investigation.

The Vendor Assurance team will contact the unit and will provide them with the suppliers address of where to send the foreign body to, along with a letter which states the AIR reference and unit number to include in the envelope.

The Unit should then post the foreign body to the supplier address by recorded delivery including the letter Vendor Assurance has provided in the envelope.

The Unit should provide the tracking number to Vendor Assurance.

The Vendor Assurance Team will then chase the supplier if necessary for a response, check the supplier response to ensure that it is suitable and will contact the unit and customer if required once a suitable response has been received from the supplier. 

Product Recalls

Product Recalls or Product Alerts are used to rapidly communicate information to catering units in all operating companies. Information for these recalls/alerts is received as a Food Hazard Warning from Buyers/Vendors/Media or as a result of a complaint.

Product recall notices are circulated to units affected by the recall via the Foodbuy communications team and central communications team, they may also be circulated to the units by Brakes support line team. Depending on the severity of the recall communication may also be via sector communication streams from sector commercial managers, sector MDs and sector HSE managers.