The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued its strategy for dealing with food incidents which pose a potential threat to consumers.
The Incident prevention strategy to 2010 sets out how the FSA aims to defend the UK against incidents ranging from allergen contamination to illegal imports. The FSA wants to work with international organisations including the European Commission, the US Food and Drug Administration and the Food and Agriculture Organisation to tackle global issues.
The FSA will focus on data gathering and horizon scanning to prevent crises, such as the 2005 Sudan 1 incident where imported chilli powder was contaminated with illegal dye.
This work would include creating an industry led 'scoping group' to identify key ingredients linked to problems. It would also examine their geographical sources, the types of contamination they are susceptible to and the effects of using such contaminated ingredients on the supply chain.
Together with the Canadian Public Health Agency and the European Food Safety Authority, the FSA plans to develop a global food safety alert system, which would use internet tools to detect issues and inform stakeholders.
The FSA is looking at ways to improve analysis and sampling of chemical contaminants and methods for tackling mycotoxins in food. It is also restructuring its website to include the latest on incident prevention and response.
The FSA wants food businesses to improve the accuracy of food allergen labelling controls and is proposing a joint risk-based surveillance programme.
It now plans to consult with relevant stakeholders across the UK which have an interest incident prevention.