UK reviews COVID and Brexit impact on food standards – Food Safety News

A reduction in food business inspections and the delay in full import controls are two major issues identified by a recent report on food standards.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS)report covers 2019 to 2021, a period when the United Kingdom was affected by leaving the European Union and the COVID-19 pandemic.

A fall in the number of inspections of businesses is due to resourcing pressures faced by local authorities. The delay in establishing full UK imports controls for high-risk food like meat, dairy and eggs from the EU has reduced the ability to prevent unsafe food entering the UK market. These checks should be in place by the end of 2023.

Findings come amid plans to cut the number of civil servants to 2016 levels in three years, a loss of full access to the EUs Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and losing a place in the Heads of Food Safety Agencies, agroup of EU bodies that meet to share good practices.

Positive findings but challenges remainFSA chair, Susan Jebb, said the report provides reassurance that high food standards in the UK have been upheld during a tough period for the food system.

We are under no illusions that there are major challenges ahead. Establishing full UK import controls on food from the EU by the end of next year is a priority. The longer the UK operates without assurance that products from the EU meet our high food and feed safety standards, the less confident we can be that we can effectively identify potential safety incidents, she said.

As the report also points out, local authority inspections declined during the reporting period. Even though there are signs of improvement, particularly on hygiene inspections, local authorities continue to face resourcing constraints which could affect progress.

The FSA and FSS said that food safety standards havelargely been maintained in the period. However, thepandemic disrupted regular inspections, sampling and audits,reducing the amount of data to assess business complianceagainst food law. It also changed patterns of consumer behavior.

About 40 million tons of food are imported from abroad each year. The EUremains the biggest supplier, accounting for over 90 percent of beef, dairy, eggsand pork products imported into the UK and nearly two-thirds of all foodand feed not of animal origin.

British Lion Eggs urged retailers and foodservice operators to use domestic eggs instead of importing them.

Andrew Joret, British Egg Industry Council chairman, said: There have been ongoing food safety issues associated with non-UK eggs for many years and it is essential that effective food safety controls are in place for imports to ensure British consumer are protected from any potential risks, particularly vulnerable groups. This report confirms that the current controls on the import of eggs are not sufficient and until they are, any operator choosing to sell imported eggs is taking a gamble with the health of their customers.

Picture of incident reportingAnalysis of compliance in import controls between 2020and 2021 shows there has not been any meaningful change in the standard ofimported goods due to the pandemic or Brexit.

There was a rise in reports of contamination by microorganismsfrom 360 in 2019 to 584 in 2021, as a result of more advanced surveillance such as Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS) to track the source ofoutbreaks and Salmonella in breadedchicken products. Therewas a nearly three-fold increase inpoultryrelated incidents following aseries of Salmonella outbreaks in breaded chicken from Poland in2020 and 2021, which affected more than 1,000 people.

There was a fall in incidents related to food allergens from 355 in 2019 to 272 in 2021. Ethyleneoxide in sesame seeds from India accounted for many reported cases of chemicalcontamination in 2020 and 2021.

There were 100 disruptions of criminal activity in the supply chainreported by the UKs two food crime units in 2021. Five cases in Scotland havebeen referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, with three being considered as seriousoffences. Last year also saw the first prosecution after an investigationby the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), related to the sale of 2,4 dinitrophenol(DNP) and other offences linked to controlled drugs and prescriptiononly medicines.

The growth in e-commerceis creating complexity by increasing the number of online businesses. Online marketplaces are not inherently risky, but they allow new businesses to pop up very quickly, with the associated risk that many may beunregistered and operating without adequate oversight or inspection.

FSS chair, Heather Kelman, said the reports findings were encouraging but the effects of Brexit and the pandemic are still being felt, and will continue to impact food systems for years to come.

This joint report comes at what we believe is a make or break juncture for food quality and safety, as we transition into a post-pandemic landscape and take on new responsibilities following our departure from the EU, she said.

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UK reviews COVID and Brexit impact on food standards - Food Safety News