WASHINGTON — While most large manufacturers contact Kroger Co. directly about product recalls, medium and small suppliers are not as forthcoming, said John Kolenski, director, food safety and regulatory compliance for the Cincinnati-based retailer.

“When it comes down to medium and small companies that may have never had a recall before, we’re going to learn about it through the press sometimes,” said Kolenski, speaking at the Global Food Safety Conference here last week. “That slows the process down.”

Kroger is a subscriber to the Rapid Recall Exchange, the new online portal developed by the Food Marketing Institute and GS1 US to facilitate the dissemination of recall information from manufacturers to retailers.

“[The exchange] is growing, but the same small manufacturers that don’t notify us today probably won’t subscribe to the service,” he said.

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