responding to food incidents
The Food Standards Agency has recently updated its guidance
documents on how to respond to food incidents. These provide advice
on the roles and responsibilities of businesses, local authorities,
port authorities and the FSA in relation to food incidents and
include a protocol for Agency staff.
A food incident is when there are concerns
about actual or suspected threats to the safety or the quality of
food, including when food does not meet legal requirements.
Food businesses are responsible for ensuring
that the food they produce, import, pack, transport, store or sell
is safe and are prohibited from placing unsafe food on the market.
A food is considered to be unsafe if it is either injurious to
health or unfit for human consumption. A food may also be unsafe if
it does not comply with specific legislation, such as regulations
relating to contaminants or pesticides.
If a food business considers or has reason to
believe that one of its food products does not meet the food safety
requirements, it must immediately initiate a withdrawal or, if
necessary, a recall. A withdrawal is where the food has not yet
reached the consumer and is removed from the supply chain. A recall
involves asking consumers to return the product to the place of
purchase or destroy it.
As will as ordering a withdrawal/recall, the
food business is also legally required to inform their local
authority, port health authority and the Food Standards Agency.
Where there is no food safety issue, but where
a product does not meet food standards requirements, such as
labelling or quality issues, the food business should also consider
withdrawing the product to avoid being prosecuted for breach of the
relevant food standards legislation.
