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David Power, 20 Mar
Live maggots and a bloody plaster in a curry were just some of the
growing number of complaints received by the Food Safety Authority of
Ireland (FSAI) in the past year.
A total of 7,363 queries and complaints were handled by the FSAI Advice
Line in 2022.
Announcing details today of the complaints and queries last year, the
FSAI stated that there were 4,058 complaints from consumers, with 31%
of complaints relating to unfit food and 28% to poor hygiene standards.
Overall, the 2022 complaints saw a 18.9% increase compared with 2021
figures, continuing an overall upwards trend over the past decade.
Foreign body contamination of food was frequently reported in 2022.
Commonly reported objects in food included: pieces of glass; wood;
plastic; paper; metal; hairs; small stones; medicine tablets; and
insects.
Examples include: a live snail in a pack of spinach; live maggots in
fried chicken; part of a disposable glove in a rocky road biscuit; a
dirty and possibly bloody plaster in a curry; a false nail in garlic
cheese chips; a piece of glass in coffee beans; and metal shavings in
chicken wings. Complaints regarding unfit food cited meats not cooked
completely; mould found on food products; food on sale past their
use-by date; and food served cold instead of hot.
The second most frequently reported topic related to poor hygiene
standards. Hygiene issues reported included: fish deliveries left
outside in the sun; excessive flies and overall dirty food business
premises; rodent droppings spotted; bathrooms lacking soap; and staff
not washing hands and other poor staff hygiene habits.
Aside from unfit food and poor hygiene standards, other consumer
complaints ranged from reports of suspected food poisoning to a failure
to display allergen information. The breakdown of complaints are as
follows:
Unfit food: 1,258
Hygiene standards: 1,124
Suspect food poisoning: 1,122
Labelling: 150
Allergen information: 127
Unregistered food business: 63
Others: 214
All complaints received by the FSAI in 2022 were followed up and
investigated by food inspectors throughout the country. Food businesses
should refer to the FSAI website for the most up-to-date advice on
issues such as how to determine product shelf-life and how to declare
it on a label; how to develop and implement a food safety management
system; and how to comply with microbiological criteria to ensure that
food is of acceptable quality. Those thinking of starting a food
business can also find resources and training on the FSAI website.
The FSAI’s Advice Line also offers advice and information and during
2022, there were 3,305 food safety queries from people working in the
food service sector; manufacturers; retailers; distributors;
researchers; consultants; and consumers. Popular topics included: best
practice in food businesses and food safety legislation; food
supplement legislation; requests for FSAI publications; imports/exports
and several others.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI commented that the reporting of
food safety issues plays a vital role in complementing the work of the
food safety inspectorate.
"We commend members of the public, as well as the food industry for
reporting food safety issues. Food businesses have a legal obligation
to provide safe food and people noticing and contacting us is of great
benefit to the Environmental Health Officers, veterinary and
agricultural inspectors, sea-fisheries inspection officers and the
laboratories.
"While they carry out routine inspections throughout the country and
analyse food samples, complaints assist in targeting an issue and
ensure possible threats to public health are dealt with quickly. The
increase in complaints is a positive indication of people’s heightened
awareness of their right to expect high standards of hygiene and food
safety in relation to food. In 2022, the FSAI ran a digital
communications campaign entitled See Something, Say Something which
aimed to raise awareness amongst consumers of our online complaint
service. We encourage anyone who encounters poor hygiene or food safety
standards in a food business to report the matter to the FSAI, so that
it can be investigated by the relevant food safety inspectorate," said
Dr Byrne.
The FSAI Advice Line is open during usual working hours from 10am to
4pm weekdays, manned by food scientists and trained advisors and can be
reached at info@fsai.ie or through the online complaint form ‘make it
better’ on the FSAI website.
The FSAI Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages are also resources with
up-to-the-minute information in relation food
safety: www.facebook.com/FSAI and @FSAIinfo.