FSAI Advice Line Receives Almost 2,000 Complaints on Food Standards
Tuesday, 2 March 2010
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) today announced details of information requests and complaints received by the FSAI advice line last year. In 2009, a total of 9,444 queries were recorded, with 27% of those received from consumers reporting issues concerning food and food establishments, such as: low hygiene standards; unfit food; inaccurate labelling information; and suspected food poisoning. In total, 1,981 complaints from consumers were lodged last year and broken down as follows:
• 858 complaints on unfit food
• 363 complaints on suspect food poisoning
• 408 complaints on hygiene standards
• 112 complaints on incorrect information on food labelling
• 20 complaints on incorrect advertising of food products
• 220 other
Records showed that contamination with foreign objects such as insects, hair, pieces of skin, glass and rodent droppings were the most common type of complaints concerning unfit food. Misleading labelling and out of date food remaining on sale were noted as the most regular grievances amongst consumers regarding labelling issues. In 2009, the FSAI advice line received an increased number of complaints regarding supermarkets mislabelling the country of origin of vegetables and fruit. Complaints concerning poor hygiene standards often related to staff in food premises not washing their hands; touching their face and then handling food and, handling raw and cooked food with the same kitchen utensils. All complaints received by the FSAI are referred to environmental health officers who investigate each complaint thoroughly.
Commenting on these figures, Ms Edel Conway, Information Manager, FSAI stated that the statistics reflect the power of consumer behaviour and action towards food products and food premises that do not meet adequate standards.
“Consumers are more aware of the risk to their health from unsafe food and many calls to the advice line are from people who have eaten in a food premises with questionable hygiene standards or when they feel that they have become ill due to food that they have eaten. We would encourage all those who witness or observe unsatisfactory food standards to view the FSAI advice line as a vital resource of information, which will respond immediately to all complaints and queries received. The trained advisors and food scientists who operate the advice line aim to provide up-to-date details of the latest food hygiene regulations, the recommended codes of practice and standards, and any other advice needed to ensure that all food prepared and served is safe to eat,” she continued.
The advice line also deals with queries from the food industry, who accounted for 44% of the calls. Their main requests were for FSAI publications; advice on food labelling; and food safety training information. In addition to this, records showed that there was a 50% increase in 2009 from 2008 in the number of calls to the advice line requesting information and guidance on how to set up a new food business, which could be an indication of the recent downturn in the economy.
From 1999 to 2009, consumers, caterers and manufacturers have consistently been the most frequent users of the advice line. The incidences which caused peaks in calls to the advice line between 1999 and 2009 include:
• In 2000, 420 queries recorded from consumers following a product recall of cooked ham due to Salmonella contamination
• In 2005, approximately 400 calls were recorded in relation to a large recall of various food products due to the presence of Sudan Red, an illegal food colourant
• In 2008, the advice line received 3,725 calls during the recall of all Irish pork and pork products due to dioxin contamination.
The FSAI advice line, on lo-call 1890 33 66 77 or info@fsai.ie, operates from 9am to 5pm weekdays.