When you’re selling food, there are plenty of opportunities for things to go wrong — even after taking every precaution and following all the rules.

Contaminated food or building infestations, product recalls, and food spoilage can happen to the best in the business. But there are insurance coverages in place to help deal with these situations. Here are three policies you may want to consider to ensure your business is protected.

Product Recall Expense

If you own a grocery store, whether big or small, odds are you’ll find yourself a victim of product recall at some point. In fact, product recall is so common that lists of recalled products, including food items, can be tracked down practically every week. 900 million products were recalled last year alone, and it’s only getting worse: a research report by Aon in 2014 found that product recalls are increasing year-over-year in both Canada and the United States.

Product recalls are increasing year-over-year in both Canada and the United States, according to a research report by Aon in 2014.

But luckily for you, there’s an easy insurance solution to help you retrieve your faulty products. Product recall expense is specifically designed to protect grocery stores from the risks and expenses associated with product recalls. This insurance coverage can cover legal fees if a customer gets sick or injured from a recalled product, and it can cover the costs associated with the recall. These expenses could include public relations costs, withdrawing products from shelves, replacing products and the shipping or disposal costs that come directly from the product recall.

Food Contamination and Infestation

Nobody likes to think about the food at their grocery store getting contaminated in any way. But despite your best efforts, and strictly enforced store policies to ensure food is treated with the utmost care, food contamination can happen in a number of ways that are out of your control.

Pathogens like E. Coli and Salmonella can easily find their way to the food chain through poultry, dairy, and even drinking water. Contamination can arise from common infestations like insects, birds, rodents, or other animals. Or even, in extremely rare cases, the contamination can be caused by humans. Just last year, a man was charged with poisoning food at Michigan grocery stores by spraying the food with a concoction of hand sanitizer and mouse poison. And this year a German man admitted to poisoning baby food and threatened to contaminate other products in stores across Europe.

Food Contamination and Infestation coverage helps cover the costs from the loss or damage resulting from foreign substance contamination. The coverage also helps with damages caused by insects, birds, rodents, or other animals.

Food Spoilage due to Equipment Breakdown

You may not realize it, but a lot of your store’s operations are dependent on equipment. And if equipment like refrigerated storage rooms or air conditioning systems should break down, you may be facing food spoilage as a result. While you can prepare your staff by hosting training programs on how to follow proper food handling protocols so that you ensure the food doesn’t spoil, there are some situations that are out of your control. You can’t stop weather-related incidents or power surges, for instance.

But if bad luck should head your way, Equipment Breakdown coverage can help pay for the cost of replacing equipment, as well as the cost of lost property or revenue. It also covers any other electrical equipment or production machinery that your grocery store may use.

Be prepared

If possible, you should always aim to avoid claims entirely. Of course, the more you can do to prevent an accident, the better. That’s where Federated’s Risk Services programs come in. These exclusive programs can help protect you and your business while helping to enhance workplace and employee safety. Federated also has Risk Services specialists to answer any questions you may have throughout the process.

But even with precautions and safety measures in place, and despite all of your best efforts, things can still go wrong quickly when you’re running a business. So if you’re looking for more ways to protect your business, insurance for your grocery store may be the solution for you.

This blog is provided for information only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information and will not be responsible for any loss arising out of reliance on the information.