Is the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) ahead of the game?
The scandal of horse meat in burgers and Findus Lasagne, both claimed to be beef, again calls into question the effectiveness of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Since Christmas, UK Health Radio presenter of the popular Health Kicks Show, John Hicks, has been sharing his concerns on-air about the continuous withdrawal of products from UK supermarket shelves because of potentially dangerous incorrect labelling.
He raised the issue with the FSA, the body responsible for protecting the public’s food supply.
An FSA spokesperson told the Health Kicks Show in late 2012: “Manufacturers and retailers have to ensure that food is safe and food labelling is correct. If they find a problem, they must notify the Food Standards Agency. The Agency responds immediately to protect consumers with food allergies by assessing the risk and agreeing actions with the business, and issuing alerts for consumers about withdrawals or recalls. There have been around 70 food allergy alerts this year, a very small number in the context of the tens of thousands of food products on sale.”
Yet, since he started expressing concern just over a month ago, batches of the following products had to be withdrawn because they potentially contained ingredients which could potentially cause allergic reactions and which were not correctly listed on the labels:
- SuperValu Vegetable Samosas (soya)
- Iceland Chicken Biryani (prawns)
- Asda own-brand Great Stuff Minced Beef Hotpot (wheat/gluten)
- Sainsbury’s own-brand Honey Roasted Jumbo Cashews (peanuts)
- Waitrose Channel Island Hazelnut Yogurt (almonds and walnuts)
- Scotty Brand Scotch Broth Soup Mix (peanuts)
- Tesco Mini Chocolate Crispies cake decorations (soya)
- Asda Chosen By You Home Baking Whole Blanched Almonds (peanuts and walnuts)
- Greencity Wholefoods yogurt-coated products (milk and sulphites)
So, in just a few weeks, lives were put at risk – but that was not all.
These were in addition to recalls from Argyll Smokery and Koon Yick Wah Kee because of concerns over bacterial issues. And Budgens, Londis and SuperValu recalled some of their SuperValu Salted Peanuts, because a batch of the product has been found to contain aflatoxins at levels higher than the regulatory limits. And Sainsbury’s recalled its own-brand Lemon Thyme because of potential salmonella contamination.
And Snax 4 U recalled sandwiches, baguettes, wraps and filled rolls produced in premises served with a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice due to food hygiene contraventions involving rodent infestation.
And Cake Factory Outlet and Clearance Cake Excess withdrew re-branded and re-labelled cakes, biscuits, sweets, puddings and tarts produced in premises with unsatisfactory hygiene conditions.
And there were two separate incidents notified to the FSA in which cattle aged over 72 months entered the food chain without being tested for BSE. The incidents involved a total of three animals.
This was in addition to withdrawal of products from Watson’s Wholesale Meats and Savouries Ltd who produced bacon ribs and cooked pig stomachs in unapproved premises under unsatisfactory hygiene conditions.
And the Co-operative recalled own-brand Breaded Chicken Nuggets because plastic had been found in some of the packets.
And the FSA decided to prosecute Selfridges Retail Limited and the farmer who supplied the company with raw drinking cow milk for sale, Stephen Hook, for breaches of food hygiene regulations.
John said: “It is alarming that every week we continue to receive news that the FSA has been told that products have been withdrawn. Not that the FSA has found the mistakes, they have been told by others. They didn’t discover the halal meat or horse meat problems – they were warned by other agencies.”
“What is the FSA proactively doing to protect us? Well, at long last, the Food Standards Agency has announced it is demanding a more comprehensive meat testing programme from food businesses.”
Catherine Brown, chief executive of the FSA, has announced that: ‘Following our investigations into Findus products, the FSA is now requiring a more robust response from the food industry in order to demonstrate that the food it sells and serves is what it says it is on the label. We are demanding that food businesses conduct authenticity tests on all beef products, such as beef burgers, meatballs and lasagne, and provide the results to the FSA. The tests will be for the presence of significant levels of horse meat.’
John gave the news a cautious welcome. “But what about other products other than beef? What about all the mislabelling of ingredients which could cause potentially fatal allergic reactions?” he said. “I would like to see a more pro-active approach from the FSA to reassure the general public”.
To learn more about the Health Kicks Show please visit www.health-kicks.co.uk and UK Health Radio is found at www.ukhealthradio.com
The views in this article are the personal ones held by the author, John Hicks, and are not necessarily those of UK Health Radio.
