The most comprehensive study ever undertaken into food safety breakdowns will be used to help the industry channel resources into high-risk areas.
The three-year project, funded by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and due to be completed by Campden & Chorleywood Food Research Association (CCFRA) this summer, looked at more than 7,500 incidents over the last decade and drew on information from the Health Protection Agency, the FSA, the government and CCFRA's own records.
The resulting database covers microbiological outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, chemical hazards and foreign bodies in foods.
More than 20% of recorded incidents involving foreign bodies in products were associated with vegetables and vegetable products, followed by cereals and cereal products at 12.8% and meat and meat products at 8.8%. When it came to biological incidents, such as campylobacter and listeria, poultry and poultry products topped the list, followed by meat and meat products, eggs and egg products, fish, shellfish and fish products, and desserts.
Most food safety problems were caused by a failure to follow preparation instructions, inappropriate storage, ineffective cleaning, inadequate heating and ineffective segregation of raw materials. And while consumers and caterers caused most of the problems, manufacturers were also to blame, claimed Dr Mike Stringer, food technology director at CCFRA.
"A lack of understanding of process requirement, poor training, inadequate ongoing management control and weak applications of management systems, such as HACCP (hazard analysis critical control points), clearly contribute [to breakdowns]. New approaches to education, training and control need to be explored."