The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation to gather views on precautionary allergen labelling (PAL) and the provision of precautionary allergen information on many types of food sold in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

The consultation is open to all stakeholders, from food businesses to schools, to trade bodies and consumers and covers topics including:

• The provision of precautionary allergen information to consumers
• Improving guidance and advice for businesses on how and when to use the labelling
• Ensuring compliance with regulations; and standardising risk-analysis for allergen cross-contamination.

The feedback received will assist the FSA in considering potential approaches for precautionary allergen labelling for prepacked foods and precautionary allergen information for non-prepacked foods, so that the information is:

• Communicated more clearly and consistently, in an understandable and meaningful way to consumers, in terms of the form and content of the information
• Based on a proportionate and standardised processes for assessing, managing, and communicating the risk of allergen cross-contamination by food businesses

More detailed information can be found on the Precautionary Allergen Labelling consultation page.

 

The consultation will be open until 14^th March 2022 and the FSA aims to publish a summary of responses within 3 months after this date.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published the Wales Key Findings Report for wave one and two of the Food and You 2 survey. The survey measures self-reported consumer knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in Wales, England and Northern Ireland.

 

The survey was conducted during the Covid-19 pandemic and so It reports the reported attitudes and behaviours under unusual circumstances, which have a significant impact on how and where people buy and eat food, and on levels of household food insecurity.

 

The report covers topics such as food safety in the home, food shopping, eating out, food security, concerns about food, and trust in the FSA and food supply chain.

 

The key findings are:

• Confidence in food safety and authenticity
  • More than 9 in 10 (94%) respondents reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat.
  • Almost 9 in 10 (89%) respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate.
• Confidence in the food supply chain:
  • Over three quarters of respondents (79%) reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain.
  • Respondents were more likely to report confidence in farmers (92%), shops and supermarkets (89%) than in takeaways (74%), and food delivery services (57%).
• Awareness, trust and confidence in the FSA:
  • Over 9 in 10 respondents (93%) had heard of the FSA.
  • Over 8 in 10 (81%) respondents who had at least some knowledge of the FSA reported that they trusted the FSA to make sure food is safe and what it says it is
• Concerns about food
  • Respondents were asked to briefly explain what their concerns were about the food they eat. The most common concerns related to food safety and hygiene (18%), and food production methods (18%).
  • Respondents were asked to indicate if they had concerns about a number of food-related issues, from a list of given options. The most common concerns related to the amount of sugar in food (58%), food waste (57%) and animal welfare (57%).
• Food security
  • Food security levels were comparable across Wales, adjusted-England*, and Northern Ireland. Over three quarters of respondents were food secure (i.e. had high or marginal food security) in Wales (82%), adjusted -England (86%) and Northern Ireland (84%). Approximately 1 in 6 respondents were food insecure (i.e. had low or very low food security) in Wales (18%), adjusted-England (14%), and Northern Ireland (16%).
• Confidence in allergen labelling
  • Most respondents (80%) who go food shopping and take into consideration a person who has a food allergy or intolerance were confident that the information provided on food labelling allows them to identify foods that will cause a bad or unpleasant physical reaction.
  • Respondents who bought food loose were more confident in identifying these foods in-store at a supermarket (74%), when buying food from a supermarket online (69%) and when shopping at independent food shops (68%). However, respondents were less confident when buying food from food markets or stalls (54%).
• Eating out and takeaways
  • Most respondents (92%) reported that they had heard of the Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (FHRS). Almost two thirds (65%) of respondents reported that they had heard of the FHRS and had at least some knowledge of the FHRS.
• Food allergy, intolerance, and other hypersensitivities
  • Most respondents (86%) reported that they did not have a food hypersensitivity. Fewer than 1 in 10 (9%) respondents reported that they had a food intolerance, 3% had a food allergy, 1% had coeliac disease and 1% had multiple food hypersensitivities.

 

To read the full report or find out more about the survey results, please click here.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has shared the transcript of FSA Chair Professor Susan Jebb’s speech to the Global Conference for Food Safety Regulation and Sustainability on Wednesday 10 November.

The speech focused on how climate change will impact on diet and what is the regulatory responsibility. Professor Jebb noted her disappointment at “how little of the conversation at COP 26 has focused on food”. She stated that “rising temperatures mean food and feed chains are at greater risk from pathogens and other hazards like aflatoxins, the toxic substances caused by fungus. Extreme weather conditions are disrupting harvests and supply chains, increasing the risk of food incidents and food crime.” Professor Jebb called for a less wasteful system, reducing the environmental harms of food production (particularly meat production and consumption), and “find solutions that are kinder to the planet and that will require a culture of innovation”.

To read the full transcript, click here.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has opened a consultation on the draft Scientific Opinion advising on the development of harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling and the setting of nutrient profiles for restricting nutrition and health claims on foods.

The consultation will close on 9^th January 2022, so all comments must be returned prior to the closing date.

To access the consultation, click here.

The European Commission have released the findings of the first coordinated control plan on the authenticity of herbs and spices in the EU market. The most susceptible, with 48% of samples being adulterated was oregano and it was found that olive leaves were the most common adulterant.

Other spices included in the coordinated control were cumin, turmeric, paprika/chilli, pepper and saffron as these have previously been reported to be the subject of adulteration.

Over 10,000 assays were performed on 1,885 samples using a variety of cutting-edge analytical methods. The proportion of samples suspected of adulteration was 48% for oregano, 17% for pepper, 14% for cumin, 11% for turmeric, 11% for saffron and 6% for paprika/chilli. The bulk of questionable samples included unidentified plant material and in 2% of the spice samples that were analysed, unapproved colorants were also discovered along with copper compounds exceeding the applicable maximum residue level defined by Regulation (EC) No 396/2005 were identified in 2 cumin, 45 oregano, and 4 pepper samples.

Fraudulent manipulation can occur at any stage of the supply chain, at manufacturing, transportation, processing etc until the product reaches the market. The overall rate of questionable samples was 17% (323 samples out of a total of 1885), which is lower than previously published in the scholarly literature or by national food control agencies.

Legislation has been laid that will see Scotland ban some of the most environmentally damaging single-use plastic items, with the ban coming into force on 1^st June 2022.

The ban will apply to single use plastic cutlery, plates, straws and drinks stirrers, as well as food containers made of expanded polystyrene and cups and other beverage containers made of expanded polystyrene, including the covers and lids.

Circular Economy Minister Lorna Slater said:

“We are turning promise into action and banning some of the most problematic single-use plastic items in Scotland. Every year, hundreds of millions of pieces of single-use plastic are wasted in this country. They litter our coasts, pollute our oceans and contribute to the climate emergency. That has to end and this ban will be another step forward in the fight against plastic waste and throwaway culture. This is another example of the sort of bold action that is needed if we are to deliver on the commitments that are being made at COP26.”

“Crucially, the legislation includes exemptions for single-use plastic straws, to make sure that those who need them for independent living or medical purposes can still get access to them.  However, the ban is at risk from the UK Internal Market Act, which effectively exempts any items that are produced in or imported via another part of the UK.  I will be writing to the UK government to ask that they take the necessary steps to ensure the integrity of this ban.”