I recently came across an interesting case in Canada involving the recall of macadamia nuts because of possible Salmonella contamination.
It caught my attention, given the work we do with macadamia processors in South Africa and Australia.
The initial recall involved a specific product and lot of raw macadamias. But as the Canadian Food Inspection Agency investigated further, additional macadamia products were identified and recalled.
By March, the recall included different products, pack sizes, bulk products and retailers. The notice itself was updated several times as further affected products were identified.
Fortunately, no illnesses were reported in association with the recalled products.
But it got me thinking.
If this happened in your operation tomorrow, how quickly could you answer the important questions?
- Where did the affected product come from?
- Which intake or production batches did it move through?
- Was it mixed, processed or repacked with other product?
- Which finished goods contain it?
- Which pallets are affected?
- Which customers received them?
- And importantly, what product can you confidently say is not affected?
That last question is important.
The value of good traceability during a recall is not simply being able to find the affected product.
It is being able to isolate the problem as precisely and as quickly as possible.
The Canadian incident is also a useful reminder that traceability is not a substitute for good food-safety controls. Supplier assurance, testing, processing controls and preventing cross-contamination all matter.
But when something does go wrong, your traceability system becomes part of your response capability.
Interestingly, following recent Salmonella recalls involving imported nuts and seeds, the Canadian regulator reminded food businesses of the need to maintain complete traceability records showing both who the product was received from and who it was sent to.
For me, that is the real test of traceability.
Not just:
“Can we trace it?”
But:
“How quickly and precisely can we contain the problem?”
Sources
For anyone interested in the case, I’ve included the official Canadian Food Inspection Agency links below.
- Original CFIA macadamia recall, 28 January 2026
- Expanded CFIA macadamia recall, March 2026
- CFIA follow-up guidance for imported nuts and seeds, May 2026
Photo by Alejandro Luengo on Unsplash
