In this article we welcome guest author and industry expert, Alec Kyriakides, to explore some of the food safety developments, recalls and incidents that have happened recently.

 

Food Safety Developments

Microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recently published its updated “Guidelines for assessing the microbiological safety of ready-to-eat foods placed on the market”. This is an excellent reference document of the acceptable microbiological standards for ready-to-eat foods and, although primarily aimed at the interpretation of test results generated by UKHSA food, water and environmental testing laboratories, it also provides excellent guidance for others when interpreting microbiological data. It includes an overview of foodborne microorganisms including pathogens, hygiene indicators and indicators of quality / spoilage, the levels of acceptability in foods and an overview of considerations relating to sampling, transport, methodology and reporting of results. It also considers the role of environmental sampling for foodborne pathogens.

Extensive public recall due to peanut contamination of mustard

Over 60 products have been recalled in the UK due to potential contamination of mustard with peanut. Consumers with a peanut allergy were advised to avoid eating any food containing mustard during this period; this is likely to have impacted a large number of individuals given recent estimates of the prevalence of allergy to peanuts. The mustard ingredients were traced to three producers in India who, in turn supplied the contaminated material to three spice companies in the UK. The source of the peanut and the associated root cause have not been established and so it is unclear whether this is a result of accidental contamination, malicious contamination or fraud. It does however serve to remind us of the vigilance needed particularly regarding ingredients used extensively in product recipes with major incidents such as Sudan I being another notable historical example.

The burden of antimicrobial resistance

The global burden of bacterial antimicrobial disease between 1990 and 2021 was recently published and, in 2021 alone, it was estimated that 4.71 million deaths were associated with bacterial AMR with 1.14 million attributable to bacterial AMR. The number of deaths in 2050 were forecasted to be 8.22 million and 1.91 million, respectively with the highest impacted regions being south Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Although AMR is essentially a natural process, its emergence and spread is accelerated by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials to treat, prevent and control infections in humans, animals and plants (WHO).

A number of bodies exists to promote the responsible use of antimicrobials in the food and animal supply chain.

EU alert cooperation network (ACN)

The Alert Cooperation Network was established to facilitate the exchange of information on agri-food controls between EU Member States. It is managed by the European Commission and consists of four notification networks for fraud (FFN, Agri-Food Fraud Network), food/feed (RASFF, Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed), plants (PH, Plant Health) and general administration and assistance (AAC, Administrative and Assistance Cooperation Network). In its latest report for 2023, there were 4695 RASFF alerts, 3166 AAC notifications, 758 AFN notifications and 128 PH notifications. The top 3 recurrent RASFF alerts by hazard, product category and origin were pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables from Turkey (168 notifications), Salmonella spp. in poultry and poultry product from Poland (153 notifications) and chemical migrants in food contact materials from China (92 notifications).  

 

Food Recall Highlights

The data used for this food recall highlights review is sourced from open access recall databases covering different countries and continents including the USA (Food & Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture), the UK (Food Standards Agency), Germany (Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety) and Australia (Food Standards Australia New Zealand).

Microbiological contamination of foods were dominated by Salmonella spp. across a range of commodities with a lower number of reports due to Listeria monocytogenes. An unusual source of a listeriosis outbreak was reported this month following a detailed investigation of a two-year long outbreak in Switzerland affecting 34 people and resulting in 7 deaths. The most likely product implicated was baker’s yeast and, despite this being considered a non ready-to-eat product, it is believed to have served as the source of contamination for a variety of products.

 

Allergen recalls were, once again, predominantly caused by the undeclared presence of milk with nuts also driving a large number. The recall of multiple products due to the use of mustard contaminated with peanut resulted in a major recalls of products in the UK;

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Physical contamination with metal remained the most common reason for recalls in this category;

 

Chemical recalls were dominated by the presence of illegal chemicals;

   

Author

 

Alec Kyriakides

BRCGS International Advisory Board Chair

Independent Food Safety Consultant