Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council marks World Food Safety Day
Fri, June 07, 2019
World Food Safety Day takes place today (Friday 7th June) and to celebrate Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council is highlighting the important role of its food safety team.
It ensures that members of the public are protected from unsafe food and while problems are rare, there are several reasons why items might need to be recalled. This could be down to inaccurate allergen information on a label or if there are concerns around food poisoning bacteria such as salmonella.
If there is a recall, the team at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council will work with the food businesses and the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to make sure the product is removed from the shelves.
The Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council Councillor Sean Bateson said: “We’re very proud to be supporting World Food Safety Day. One of the key roles of Council’s food safety team is to make sure businesses recall food products that may be unsafe.
“Today is an opportunity to strengthen efforts to ensure the food we eat is safe. Food Safety is everyone’s business, whether you produce, process, sell or prepare food, then you have a role in keeping it safe. We would encourage everyone to sign up to the FSA’s food alerts service, to get immediate updates when a product is recalled or allergy alerts are published.”
Dr Colin Sullivan, Chief Operating Officer at the Food Standards Agency, said: “We are pleased to play our part in making sure people can trust their food, particularly through working with local authorities and food businesses when a recall is required.
“We issued 72 food recalls and 103 allergy alerts in 2018 and we make every effort to make sure we publish our alerts as soon as we can and with information that is both useful and clear. Our advice to people is always based on the best science and evidence available.”
Sign up to the food alerts and allergy alerts so you can be the first to hear if there is a recall by going to www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/subscribe
A recall happens when unsafe food is removed from the supply chain and consumers are advised to take appropriate action, for example, to return or dispose of the items involved.