Recall campaigns in Brazil: a legal and regulatory overview

Recall campaigns are the process of removing or correcting products and services that pose risks to consumer health and safety, ensuring consumers’ fundamental rights are protected. The procedure stems from the risks inherent in mass production involving large batches of standardized parts. Any defect or failure identified in one unit may have been replicated in other units from the same batch.

In Brazil, companies are legally obligated to recall products and services when defects are identified. Article 10, Paragraph 1 of the Consumer Protection Code (Código de Defesa do Consumidor – CDC) provides the legal basis for recalling products and services.

Companies in Brazil that identify defects in products they have released on the market are required to report the issue to the authorities and advise consumers via the media. In 2019, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security issued Ordinance No. 618 to regulate these procedures.

In regulating the recall campaign process, Ordinance No. 618/2019 establishes:

• Rules and deadlines for notifying the Brazilian consumer watchdog, Sencaon (Secretaria Nacional do Consumidor), and for investigations into potential defects prior to recall;
• The information that must be shared in regard to the defect, related risks, and the quantity of affected products when launching recall campaigns;
• Necessary details for recall campaign media plans;
• Greater flexibility regarding the types of media that can be used to inform consumers of recall campaigns (e.g., websites and online media), in light of changes in mass media consumption since the CDC was enacted in 1990.

In addition to Ordinance No. 618/2019, Senacon has published a series of technical notes to regulate recalls in Brazil. These technical notes serve to clarify Senacon’s interpretation of legal provisions applicable to consumer affairs, and to ensure the regulation and consistent treatment of specific situations, ensuring greater legal certainty and a more predictable environment.

To assist foreign companies and their suppliers in understanding the rules surrounding recalls in Brazil, Mattos Filho has released a new publication that summarizes the main regulations and provides a step-by-step guide for recall campaigns.

*Please note that the publication only encompasses Senacon rules and regulations. Depending on the types of products or services offered, companies may also need to comply with specific recall-related rules from other regulatory bodies in Brazil, such as Anvisa, Senatran, Inmetro, Mapa, etc.

For more information on this topic, please contact Mattos Filho’s Litigation & Arbitration practice area.

*With the collaboration of Beatriz Calonego Coutinho.