Food Safety News – January 2011
German contaminated egg scare comes to the UK
The New Year started with a food scare concerning dioxin contamination of egg products imported from Germany. Supermarket giants, including Tesco and Morrisons, voluntarily removed quiches and cakes from their shelves after it was revealed they may have been baked with contaminated liquefied eggs.
The contamination occurred after animal feed containing dangerous levels of dioxin were sent to farms in Germany. Tests on eggs from affected farms found they contained up to five times the legal EU limit for dioxin.
German consumers were advised to buy only organic eggs and meat until health inspections have been completed. But in the UK, contaminated liquefied eggs were imported and distributed to two companies, Kensey Foods, in Cornwall and Memory Lane Cakes in Cardiff, both of which supply supermarkets nationally.
The Food Standards Agency insisted that any eggs contaminated with dioxins would be so diluted that they would not be a health hazard. An FSA spokesman said: "The products that the liquid egg went into were short shelf-life cakes and quiches that have gone to a variety of retailers including most of the high-street supermarkets. They are removing the small amount of products that are still in date. There won't be a lot on shelves."
The liquefied egg market is extremely large in the UK, accounting for nearly a quarter of all the egg products eaten in the UK. About a third of it is imported.
Dioxins are formed by industrial processes and waste burning and can get into our food from the environment. They have no immediate effect on our health but can cause problems if they are absorbed into our bodies at high levels for long periods. Foods high in animal fat, such as milk, meat, fish and eggs – and foodstuffs made from them – are the main sources of dioxins. Low levels occur naturally in foods, but at high concentrations they have been shown to contribute to higher cancer rates and affect pregnant women.
Effectively managing your supply chain as a food business is an essential part of any due diligence defence. Hygiene Audit Systems can take this burden on for you and can identifty products for recall in an instant by searching by a single ingredient or E number.
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