FSA report says 1,600 food contamination incidents occurred in UK in 2012

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has investigated 1,604 food and environmental contamination incidents in the country in 2012, according to a new Annual Report of Food Incidents published by the agency.

The number of incidents in 2012 was 110 fewer than those in 2011, but still higher than previous years.

The three most common contaminations were microbiological (20%), environmental (15%) and natural chemicals (13%).

Providing details on the reasons of contamination, the study found the rise in certain type of salmonella was caused mainly from paan leaves (betel leaf) imported from Bangladesh.

Similarly, the number of allergen-related incidents have increased by more than 50% since 2010, and the FSA stated that it suspects the legislative changes related to gluten is major contributory factor.

According to the report, the number of whistleblowers who contacted the FSA during the year has increased to 81 from 54 in 2011.

FSA chief executive officer Catherine Brown said that the annual report encouraged food businesses and consumers to notify the agency promptly of incidents and of any other potentially useful intelligence they have.

"This will enable us to act swiftly to protect the public and the food industry and, in so doing, increase public confidence in food safety," Brown said.

The data published does not include the horsemeat contamination incidents, which occurred in the first half of this year. Food inspectors found that the beef products being sold by supermarkets in the UK and a few European countries contained horsemeat, resulting in the recall of several products.

Commenting on the new report, online platform provider for food industry Trace One senior vic- president Nick Martin said it showed that the incidents the public becomes aware of, from horsemeat to recalls of chocolate bars, were the tip of the iceberg.

"Since some incidents, such as horsemeat, aren’t even included in the FSA’s stats," he said. "Others may simply go unreported. The true number is almost certainly even bigger.

"Yet even without these, the FSA’s report makes clear just how many incidents happen each month.

"At this scale, neither the food industry nor the public can wait for or rely on increased legislation to protect against possible incidents. Instead, the industry must keep taking care of business itself."