TORONTO - A coalition of Canadian industry groups says a new online program for recalling products will provide a more streamlined process to identify and isolate affected items in the supply chain.

GS1 Canada, the non-profit organization known for creating and managing bar codes used by businesses, is spearheading the program, designed to standardize communication and transmission of recall information between manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

"Retailers currently receive a number of notices from a number of different sources," said Tim White, director of product development for GS1 Canada. "This can create confusion over which products are truly affected and in some cases result in unaffected products being pulled off of the shelf."

The coalition includes the Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors, the Canadian Federation of Independent Grocers, Food and Consumer Products of Canada and the Retail Council of Canada, representing more than 65,000 manufacturers, distributors and retailers across the country. Officials from industry and GS1 Canada announced the program launch at a news conference Tuesday.

Recent years have seen a flurry of food and product-related recalls affecting North American consumers, ranging from toxic toys to the tainted meat recall linked to the listeriosis outbreak.

The new program will not replace or change the existing recall system driven by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. But while the government identifies there's a problem with a product and sends communication it needs to be pulled, their role focuses on how to get the item off store shelves, said Eileen Mac Donald, chief operating officer of GS1 Canada.

The GS1 Canada Product Recall program is made up of a series of questionnaire-like forms to ensure all the information that businesses consider essential is included in the recall communication process. Key in this is the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) or barcode, which uniquely identifies a product by brand at the packaging level.

The online questionnaire asks the manufacturer, retailer or whoever is initiating the recall for details like the product name, reasons for the recall and issue date. The program also has capabilities to add product images, item and distribution details, handling, pick-up and contact information.

White said among the more "powerful" features is the ability for retailers to communicate back to manufacturers to tell them how much product was removed or isolated. Users are also able to look under a "date read" column to see when notices were opened.

Mac Donald said the new program provides a more systematic approach providing all necessary information in one location.

There is an annual subscription fee between $250 and $1,700 based on the size of company wishing to use the system, Mac Donald said, but noted they will offer subsidies to ensure companies of all sizes can participate.

Nancy Croitoru, president and CEO of Food and Consumer Products of Canada, whose organization represents about 80 per cent of products in stores, said she is impressed with the new program and assures that all her organization's members will be on board.

"What GS1 now provides to the manufacturers is the comfort and knowledge, the feedback from the retailer, the product is now off the shelf and that does not exist currently and that's huge," she said.

Diane Brisebois, president and CEO of the Retail Council of Canada, said for smaller members, the council will take a active role in helping them and will try to find a way to reach members so price won't be a barrier to participation.

Brisebois said while there are a lot of standardized systems in place for food, there wasn't a formal one for general merchandise, so for retailers the new program is "extremely important."

She also noted that in the wake of recalls over the years, there is a heightened awareness about ensuring that the supply chain for food and for other products is safe.

"These things will happen because manufacturers and retailers are sourcing products from around the world," she said. "So in case something does happen, we need to have a system that works, a system that's fast, a system that allows retailers and suppliers to take product off the shelf."