Food safety issues should be consistently reported to authorities, says Trace One

Research carried out by Trace One has revealed a lack of consistency in reporting food safety issues to the local authorities in the UK, with the company stating that product recalls and other food safety incidents reported to and by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) are merely the tip of the iceberg.

The general public is only really aware of food recalls that affect major retailers or have wide-reaching consequences, such as the horsemeat crisis, according to the report.

In 2012, the FSA reported 1,604 incidents, which equates to more than four each day, that ranged from incorrect labelling on products, to chemical or microbiological contamination, to use of unauthorised ingredients.

Of all the reported recalls, incorrect labelling or expired use-by dates accounted for 82%, with pest infestations, contaminated products and hygiene concerns among the other reasons for action.

A Freedom of Information (FoI) request by TraceOne revealed that about 40% of local authorities surveyed do not even record such incidents.

Trace One Northern Europe senior VP Nick Martin said that while the FSA’s remit is to report all food alerts that occur across the UK, the fact that it does not act on local recalls means that there are still many incidents that slip under the radar.

"In the course of our research there appeared to be little consistency in what actions local authorities took, whether actions were reported to the FSA, and whether these were even recorded.

"For example, a single council in Wales has, over the last two years, acted 63 times to remove unsafe products from sale: none of which have had to be reported to the FSA. "

Martin stated that while the localised nature of these incidents may make them appear less serious, they still represent a health risk and should be subject to transparency.

Martin continued, "FSA recalls on their own do not alert consumers, as the sheer scale of the numbers shows: only the attendant publicity and the actions of retailers will make the public aware.

"Not having a standardised way to report, record and analyse food recalls and alerts is unacceptable: whether information is not kept for practical purposes or reasons of commercial sensitivity, the UK needs nation-wide standards to ensure that consumers can be sure that all parties are acting in their best interests: from the FSA, to the town hall, to the individual retailer."