The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has an active Allergen Alert Service which is an extremely useful tool for food businesses, as it provides alerts for any supply issues that could affect their business and especially for any product recalls owing to mislabelling of allergen ingredients.
Over the years the alert service has been echoed by various allergy charities and it generally focusses on retail with occasional food and drinks, aimed at the food service market, being featured as having an issue.
In September and over the last few weeks the FSA posted about the possible risk of peanut in mustard products and there were two main factors with the post and what followed immediately:
- That this is a serious issue and all in businesses in the UK food service need to act and that those who are allergic to peanuts should avoid any mustard containing ingredients and products, unless absolutely assured!
- How impressive the FSA is and why we should be so proud to have this in the UK!
The latest update from the FSA
Mustard products, (mustard powder, mustard seeds, mustard flour, and ingredients containing mustard), are widely used in food production. On-going investigations have to date traced the contaminated mustard ingredients to three suppliers in India. These producers have supplied three spice companies in the UK, which have subsequently distributed the ingredients to a range of manufacturing, hospitality, and retail businesses. We have asked all three spice companies to urgently check whether their products have been contaminated, and to immediately inform any businesses they have supplied.
Allergen Accreditation
Allergen Accreditation was heavily involved with some of its clients who wanted assurances and agreeable messages to go out customers. All had good procurement practises in place and were able to seek assurance from suppliers. But that said, they still wanted to be able to re-assure their customers that they were not affected, nevertheless those with a peanut allergy should be extra careful at the present time.
In the news
Meanwhile in Exeter a lady “nearly dies” after consuming a burger that included mustard from a well-known burger chain. The lady is allergic to peanuts but thankfully recovered after a stay in hospital. Interestingly the business claimed that their mustard supply was not affected by the recent FSA alert but also claimed that it cannot guarantee allergens in their literature. This is a live case and pinpointing the root cause requires more investigation!
Whilst this is a high-profile situation, food business operators should always:
- Only use approved suppliers and keep ingredient records.
- Test all and any new, especially imported, goods for authenticity and provenance.
- Always be fully transparent with customers and set the default as contains if ever unsure about allergen ingredients.
- Be mindful and prepared for customers asking questions especially when there is a nationwide campaign!
- Check deliveries, train staff and update allergen information as it comes in.
Sign-up to the FSA’s alert service
At a time when food fraud and international supply is becoming more challenging for businesses, greater vigilance is required when sourcing and selecting suppliers. Businesses can stay up to date with alerts and other FSA news by signing into: https://www.food.gov.uk/news-alerts/subscribe
Julian Edwards, CEO, Allergen Accreditation
