Members may have seen recent reports in the media informing that the FSA and UKHSA are investigating multiple strains of Salmonella linked to poultry products imported to the UK from Poland. There have been six outbreaks investigated this year since April linked to Polish poultry and egg products.

You will recall that, following a spike of human cases in the UK in 2020, an escalated outbreak response was triggered by PHE at the time, and FSA escalated the incident to non-routine in response to enhanced food safety concern. Extensive epidemiological, microbiological and food chain investigations were undertaken that established the two major outbreaks were linked to frozen, breaded chicken meat products, predominantly supplied by two businesses in Poland.

Between 2021 to 2023, the FSA have been notified of over 90 incidents relating to Salmonella contamination in Polish poultry products (mostly reported via RASFF). All these notifications required food safety interventions such as product withdrawals and/or product recalls at a significant burden to the UK regulatory authorities and the food industry. Different to 2020/2021, the incidents are more recently linked to chilled poultry products, as opposed to frozen breaded reformulated chicken.

In light of recent evidence of enhanced public health impact linked to poultry meat and egg products imported from Poland, a further emergency response has been stood up by the FSA, working with other Government departments. The response includes exploring what action to take to ensure the safety of poultry and eggs imported from Poland.

Advice to local authorities and consumers on actions that can be taken to reduce the ongoing risk has been issued.

Local authorities have been asked to pay increased attention to businesses importing products of animal origin (POAO), (mainly poultry meat and egg products) from Poland, and those businesses handling these products at catering, retail, or wholesale. During routine inspections, local authorities are requested to ensure businesses are aware of the risks and that they have reflected these within their food safety management systems.

Regarding eggs from Poland, epidemiological and food chain investigations undertaken in response to outbreaks linked to eggs from Poland identified food service is the most likely cause of infection. Therefore, they have also been asked to remind food service businesses of risks associated with eggs from Poland and the importance of observing good hygiene practices at all times to ensure products containing eggs are safe.

You can read the advice to consumers here which reminds them of the importance of good hygiene and thorough cooking when storing, handling, and preparing poultry meat. There is no planned change to the FSA’s usual advice for consumers based on risks associated with eggs, because the solution to reducing risks arising from consumption of eggs is largely in the food service businesses opposed to retail.

The FSA continue to update industry trade bodies including ourselves and have asked that our members be vigilant, seek food safety assurances from suppliers and make sure your food safety control systems reflect and manage these risks. We will keep you updated as and when the situation develops but, in the meantime, please let us know should you have any questions, and we will do our best to assist.

Our British Frozen Food Federation Health & Safety Expert Group met again today. This group is made up of Health & Safety professionals from BFFF membership.

Amongst the topics discussed was the release of our new primary authority assured guidance to determine if cold store footwear is fit for purpose and being tested down to temperatures which reflect the frozen industry. The current standard EN ISO 20345 for testing cold insulative footwear is completed at -17°C when in fact cold store temperatures can be much lower at -40°C. The new testing methodology ensures footwear is considered in risk assessments for working in these extreme cold temperatures. Other topics discussed include ammonia, generational differences, workplace transport, composite insulated panels and EV/MHE charging. In addition, we discussed our membership accident statistics pre and post COVID.

We were then joined by guest speakers and BFFF members Mentor FLT Training Limited Andy Cartwright CMIOSH,FIIRSM RSP, AIEMA, MIIAI to discuss forklift safety in light of a growing number of concerns over operators not wearing seat belts and recent events. Following this Milo Tipper from Connected Safety Net provided insight in their latest H&S software offering.

Thanks to all those that attended and contributed. Clare Flanagan, Michael Cox, Kerry Broadhead, Rachel McLean, Fiona Gordon-Smith, Paul McNeela MCIEH, Ovidijus Barkauskas, Vince Craig, Rupert Ashby.

Today also marked the last meeting chaired by Vince Craig, Vince has chaired these meetings for the BFFF for over 10 years. We wish Vince all the very best with his future plans and thank you for all his help and support.

To find out more about the services provided by British Frozen Food Federation please contact us.

On Friday 3rd November, BFFF chaired another very successful BFFF/Seafish Importers Forum, where one of the main topics of discussion were the negotiations on autonomous tariff quotas (ATQs).

We can now confirm that the EU proposal for the ATQs covering the period 2024 to 2026 was approved in the European Council, as announced in a recent press statement.

The European Council has also released the proposal for the regulation on the 2024–2026 ATQs which can be accessed here.

The regulation covers a certain number of fishery products for which, for a limited volume, the duty will either be suspended or reduced for the period 2024 to 2026. Duty and volume are specific to each product.

However, during this period fishery products from Russia and Belarus will not be allowed to be imported into the EU under the ATQ scheme and will instead be subject to the full EU tariffs. It is understood that Russian product that has undergone transformation in China or elsewhere will retain Russian origin for the purposes of the ATQ scheme.

Several articles on this subject have been published recently in the seafood press, which may also be of interest to members:

The Fishing Daily (free to read)

Undercurrent News (subscription required)

Intrafish (subscription required)

We are all aware of the guidance for cold store workers however what about other employees working in cold weather?

The HSE has reminded employers of their responsibilities to keep workers safe in light of recent cold weather.

John Rowe, Head of Operational Strategy, said: “We’re calling on all employers to take a sensible approach during the cold weather that is coming our way. There are lots of jobs that will be more difficult in these conditions. Most employers will recognise this and make appropriate accommodations for their staff. That is the right thing to do.

“It’s also important employers ensure staff are working in a reasonable temperature. People working in uncomfortably cold environments are less likely to perform well and more likely to behave unsafely because their ability to make good decisions deteriorates.”

Temperatures in indoor workplaces are covered by the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, which place a legal obligation on employers to provide a “reasonable” temperature in the workplace.

All employers are expected to ensure indoor workplaces are kept at a reasonable temperature. The Approved Code of Practice suggests the minimum temperature should normally be at least 16 degrees Celsius. If the work involves rigorous physical effort, the temperature should be at least 13 degrees Celsius.

John Rowe added: “Complying with the code of practice is the right thing for an employer to do. By maintaining a reasonable temperature, employers are likely to maintain the morale and productivity of their staff as well as improving health and safety.”

For our primary authority assured cold store guidance please visit:

Guidance — British Frozen Food Federation (BFFF)

The UK has an ageing population in common with many other European countries. The number and proportion of both men and women aged over 65 who are working has generally risen over the last two decades.

The increasing proportion of older people living in the UK reflects the ageing of those born during the 1960s baby boom, the extended longevity of the whole population and declining fertility rates amongst the younger population. According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), in 2020 the population of the UK was 67.1 million. This agency estimates that by 2030, 21.8% of people in the UK will be aged 65 or over, 6.8% will be aged 75 or older and 3.2% will be 85 or over. The UK life expectancy at birth in 2018 to 2020 was 79.0 years for males and 82.9 years for females.

The median age for the UK’s population in 2020 was 40.5 (up from 34.4 in 1980) with the ONS predicting this will rise to 42.2 by 2035. The UK’s ageing population means that the workforce in the ‘over 50’ category is growing. The UK’s ageing workforce has considerable consequences for employers. According to the ONS in 2021 some 10.8% of the entire age group of those aged 65 or above were in work and this equated to more than 1.2 million people:

• People born post-World War II to 1964 are now in their fifties and sixties – the first reached the age of 70 in 2016.
• The UK default retirement age was abolished in 2011 – the consequence of which is that people may work for as long as they want or are able.
• Falling birth rates and increased life expectancies put pressure on public finances and pension schemes.
• People are likely to need to work longer to meet the labour market needs as exemplified by the impact of Brexit and the reduction in European workers coming to the UK.

The increase in numbers of older workers can be positive for employers and for staff. Research indicates that older workers tend to have more experience and be more loyal to their companies. Although more mature staff have a reduced risk of accidents, employers should note that they carry a higher risk of fatal accidents in certain sectors, for example in agriculture where fatality rates are higher for older workers. The rate of fatal injury does increase with age, as illustrated by the fact that according to the HSE, for the period 2016/17-2020/21 workers aged 60-64 were twice as likely to suffer a fatal injury when compared to the all ages rate, whilst workers aged 65 and over had a rate almost four times as high as the all ages rate.

Studies have shown that age can influence an individual’s physical strength, speed and cognitive functions (such as memory skills), but also that ageing is specific to each individual. It is therefore inadvisable, and potentially discriminatory, to generalise about the influence of age on these aspects of employability.

Equality law ensures that the UK Government is committed to raising employer awareness, and adoption of, flexible employment and retirement opportunities that are intended to promote the recruitment, retention and training of older workers. Effective health and safety management requires employers to ensure older workers can be both healthy and safe at work. To achieve this objective, the structure of recruitment, work and training may need to be reviewed by employers.

Breaking News!

DEADLINE EXTENDED!

We have some great news for all our retailers! Due to huge demand we are  extending the deadline for retail entries by two whole weeks! That’s right, you now have more time to get your amazing new products entered and be in the running for the prestigious British Frozen Food Awards in 2024!️ But beware because time flies in the run up to Christmas, so don’t delay! Submit your entries right away and make sure your brilliant new innovations get the recognition they deserve! The clock is ticking, and we don’t want you to miss out on the chance to make a lasting impact in the frozen food industry. Show us what you’ve got and let your innovation shine!

Enter Now