Blog Archives - Food Tree Consultancy

Application sought: two research officers for project on regulatory enforcement

30/10/2014

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is looking for two research officers to carry out qualitative fieldwork in the UK. The research officers will contribute to a project to evaluate the impact of changes in the enforcement toolkit of officers implementing food law.

The FSA is seeking candidates with experience of doing qualitative fieldwork (essentially interviews). Candidates do not have to come from a particular discipline, but a background in policing, criminology, socio-legal studies, or regulation studies would be an advantage.

The roles are open to scholars who are advanced doctoral students or who have recently completed a doctorate. The research officers will receive supervision from the project lead Dr Julien Etienne, research fellow at the London School of Economics and at the FSA.

Each research officer's work has been planned to take about 26 days, spread out over a period of 4 months (December 2014 to March 2015).

The work carried out will lead to a joint publication in an international peer-reviewed journal, co-authored with the project lead.

Remuneration is at a highly competitive rate.

Details and application form can be found via the links below.

The deadline for applications is Monday 24 November 2014.

For more information and to submit your application, please email Julien Etienne at julien.etienne@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Morrisons and Supervalu from Budgens Whole British Milk Recalled

29/10/2014

Dairy Crest Ltd has recalled certain date codes of Morrisons and Supervalu from Budgens Whole British Milk on a precautionary basis, because the products may have become contaminated with cleaning fluid during its production. If you have bought this product with the 'use by' dates shown below, do not consume it. The FSA has issued a Product Recall Information Notice.

The products being recalled are:

Product: Morrisons Whole British Milk
Pack size: 6 pints
‘Use by’ dates: 5 Nov 2014 and 7 Nov 2014

Product: Supervalu from Budgens Whole British Milk
Pack size: 6 pints
‘Use by’ dates: 5 Nov 2014 and 7 Nov 2014

Dairy Crest Ltd is recalling the above products. Product recall notices will be displayed in Morrisons and Budgens stores, explaining to consumers why the recall is happening and what they can do if they have bought an affected product.

If you have bought any of the above products, do not consume them. Instead, return them to the Morrisons or Budgens store where you bought it for a full refund.

Asda recalls bottles of Prosecco Spumante Extra Dry 75cl due to risk of the bottles shattering

21/10/2014

Asda has recalled five lot codes of Prosecco Spumante Extra Dry 75cl because of the risk of the pressurised bottles shattering. The product is sold only to Asda in the UK.

The product being recalled is:

product: Prosecco Spumante Extra Dry 75cl (with a yellow label)
barcode: 05052898002906
lot codes: L1402606, L1403271, L1403503, L1403655, L1404044
size: 75cl bottles

Asda is recalling the above product. Product recall notices are being placed in stores and being issued to consumers, advising them of the recall and what they can do if they have bought the affected products.

Product recall notices are being issued to their customers and placed in-store, telling consumers about the recall and what they can do if they have bought the affected products.

If you have bought the product, do not drink it. Instead, return it to your local Asda store or contact the company on 0800 952 0101 for a full refund.

If there is a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold, then it might be 'withdrawn' (taken off the shelves) or 'recalled' (when customers are asked to return the product). The FSA issues Product Withdrawal Information Notices and Product Recall Information Notices to let consumers and local authorities know about problems associated with food. In some cases, a 'Food Alert for Action' is issued. This provides local authorities with details of specific action to be taken on behalf of consumers.

Ewden Vale Salmon Burgers withdrawn

20/10/2014

Ewden Vale has withdrawn its Salmon Burgers with 'best before' end date 28 December 2014, because they contain barley (gluten), which is not mentioned on the product label. The undeclared presence of cereals containing gluten poses a public health risk to those with an allergy or intolerance to barley (gluten). The malt vinegar used in the product should be labelled as 'barley malt vinegar'.

Product name: Ewden Vale brand Salmon Burgers
Pack size: 350g
'Best before' date: 28 December 2014

Allergen: barley (gluten)

This product contains barley (gluten), making it a possible health risk for anyone who is allergic or has an intolerance to barley (gluten).

If you have bought the above product and have an allergy or intolerance to barley or gluten, do not eat it. Instead return it to the store from where you bought it.

The company has withdrawn the product from sale and will contact the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the withdrawal.

Recall of More Food Belgian Chocolate Rocky Roads: undeclared hazelnuts

15/10/2014

More Foods Ltd is recalling 340g packs of More Food Belgian Chocolate Rocky Roads with a ‘best before’ end date of 16 December 2014. This is because some packs have been incorrectly labelled as More Food Belgian Milk Chocolate Caramel Shortbread. This means the presence of hazelnuts is not mentioned on the label, making the product a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to hazelnuts.

Product name: More Food Belgian Chocolate Rocky Roads (labelled as More Food Belgian Milk Chocolate Caramel Shortbread)

Pack size: 340g

Batch codes: 14259

'Best before' end: 16 December 2014

No other More Food Ltd products are known to be affected.

Allergen: hazelnuts

This product contains hazelnuts, making it a possible health risk for those who are allergic to hazelnuts

If you have bought the above product with the incorrect label and have an allergy to hazelnuts, do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store from where you bought it. If you have any questions, please contact More Food Ltd by phoning 07791 738 754 or 01243 788 997.

The company is recalling product with the incorrect label from customers and has contacted the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the recall. A copy of the point-of-sale notice will be displayed in stores where it was sold.

Cow & Gate Sweet Squash and Chicken from 7 month+ 200g jar baby food recalled

14/10/2014

Cow & Gate has recalled 200g jars of its ‘Sweet Squash & Chicken from 7 months+’ baby food. The label incorrectly shows ‘no added egg’ and ‘gluten free’ in a tick box, although both egg and wheat are correctly shown in the ingredient list. This means the product is a health risk to anyone with an allergy or intolerance to wheat (gluten), and or an allergy or intolerance to egg.

Product name: Cow & Gate Sweet Squash & Chicken from 7 months+

Pack size: 200g

Best before end: 01/07/16; 22/07/16; 21/08/16; 10/09/16

No other Cow & Gate products are known to be affected.

Allergens: wheat (gluten) and egg

This product contains wheat and egg, making it a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy to wheat or egg.

If you have bought the above product and your baby has an allergy or intolerance to wheat or egg, do not feed it to your baby. Instead, return it to store for a full refund. Further information is available by contacting Cow & Gate’s careline on 0800 977 4000 or visiting their website www.cowandgate.co.uk

The company has recalled the product from customers and has contacted the relevant allergy support organisations, which will tell their members about the recall. A copy of the Allergy Alert issued by Cow & Gate is attached.

Sometimes there will be a problem with a food product that means it should not be sold. Then it might be 'withdrawn' (taken off the shelves) or 'recalled' (when customers are asked to return the product). Sometimes foods have to be withdrawn or recalled if there is a risk to consumers because the allergy labelling is missing or incorrect or if there is any other food allergy risk. When there is a food allergy risk, the FSA will issue an Allergy Alert.

Views on chia seed wanted by 17 October 2014

8/10/2014

A company has applied to the FSA for chia seeds to be approved for use in the European Union (EU) under the simplified approval procedure. The FSA’s independent expert committee has considered the company’s application and prepared a draft opinion. Views are wanted on the draft opinion.

The company, Inversora Agropecuaria, is requesting an opinion from the FSA on the 'equivalence' of their chia seeds, which are grown in particular regions of South America, with the chia seeds marketed by The Chia Company that are grown in Australia.

The European Novel Foods Regulation includes a simplified approval procedure for when a company believes its novel food is substantially equivalent to a food that is already on the market. In such a situation, the applicant can submit a notification to the European Commission after obtaining an opinion on equivalence from an EU member state – in this case the UK.

Chia is a summer annual herbaceous plant belonging to the Labiatae family. It grows from a seedling to develop lush green foliage before it produces long flowers which are either purple or, less commonly, white. These flowers develop into seed pods to produce chia seeds. Although chia is grown commercially in several Latin American countries and Australia, the seeds have not been consumed to a significant degree in Europe.

The applicant’s chia seeds will be used in the same products as those for which approval has been granted last year for The Chia Company’s seeds (bread products, breakfast cereal, fruit, nut and seed mixes and bread and 100% packaged chia seeds).

A novel food is a food or food ingredient that does not have a significant history of consumption within the European Union before 15 May 1997.

Before any new food product can be introduced on the European market it must be rigorously assessed for safety. In the UK, the assessment of novel foods is carried out by the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP), an independent committee of scientists appointed by the FSA.

The ACNFP have considered this application and have formulated a positive draft opinion. Any comments on this application should be emailed to the ACNFP secretariat at acnfp@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk by Friday 17 October 2014 and will be passed to the committee before it finalises its assessment of this novel food ingredient.

FSA checks for presence of soya in wheat flour

1/10/2014

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has started a sampling and testing programme at milling plants in the UK to test for the presence of soya in wheat flour. This follows reports that wheat flour may contain traces of soya.

Previous studies have shown that soya may be present at low levels in wheat flour. A 2013 survey carried out by the National Association of British and Irish Millers showed that low levels of soya were present in 15 out of 45 samples.

On the basis of the evidence we have received to date, the FSA believes soya in flour is unlikely to pose a risk to people with a soya allergy and does not need precautionary labelling.

The testing programme is to gather further data on the presence and level of soya in wheat and other flours in order to verify our assessment of the risk to people with allergies and to ensure that consumers are being given accurate information about flour, and flour based products.

Samples are being taken from 13 milling plants across the UK.