About Batch Beacon

Batch Beacon collects the UK’s official recall and safety notices and puts them in a form you can act on in a minute: what the product is, how to tell whether yours is affected, and what to do next.

Why we built it

Recall notices in the UK are spread across four agencies, each with its own website and format. A food recall, a toy warning, a medicines recall and a car recall can be published on the same day in four different places. Most people only hear about them by chance, at the till or on social media, and by then the pack may already be in the bin or the fridge.

We pull every new notice into one feed and organise it around the things shoppers search for: the shop they bought it from, the brand, the type of product and, above all, the code printed on the pack.

What you will find on each notice

• the product and brand, the reason for the notice and the date it was issued;
• the batch codes, best before and use by dates, barcodes, model numbers or VIN ranges the agency lists, with a box to type in the code from your own pack;
• plain-English steps for that type of hazard, and how to get your money back, a replacement or a free repair;
• for food, allergens and medicines, the symptoms to look out for and when to get urgent help;
• the agency’s own wording, and a link to the original notice.

What we are not

Batch Beacon is an independent publication. It is not run by, or on behalf of, the Food Standards Agency, the Office for Product Safety and Standards, the MHRA or the DVSA. The original notice is always the authoritative version, and where our summary and the original differ, the original is right.

We do not sell products, take payment to feature or remove notices, or give medical or legal advice.

Questions or corrections: contact us.