Thurles Information

According to the Irish Food Safety Authority (FSAI); ‘Pat the Baker’ and ‘Irish Pride’ are both recalling batches of breadcrumbs due to the possible presence of Listeria monocytogenes.
Point-of-sale recall notices will now be displayed in stores supplied with the implicated batches, including Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Supervalu and Lidl .

The Products in Question include:

• Pat the Baker Quality Bread Quality Crumb; pack size: 400g
• Pat the Baker Breadcrumb; pack size: 5Kg
• Irish Pride Bread Crumbs; pack size: 400g
• Irish Pride Catering Bread Crumbs; pack size: 2Kg

Batch Code: All batches with a best before date from 27/05/2022 to 15/06/2022 inclusive.

Symptoms of Listeria monocytogenes infection can include mild flu-like symptoms, or gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. In rare cases, the infection can be more severe, causing serious complications. Some people are more vulnerable to Listeria monocytogenes infections, including pregnant women, babies, and people with weakened immune systems, including the elderly. The incubation period (time between initial infection and first symptoms appearing) is on average 3 weeks but can range between 3 and 70 days.

Retailers are requested to immediately remove the implicated batches from sale and to display a point-of-sale recall notice in stores where the affected batches were sold.

Wholesalers/distributors are requested to contact their affected customers and recall the affected batches and provide a point-of-sale recall notice to their retailer customers.

Caterers and consumers are strongly advised not use or eat the implicated batches.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) yesterday published an audit which found a level of non-compliance with food law and subsequently led to ten formal enforcement actions being undertaken.

The FSAI’s Audit of Food Business Operator Compliance with Meat Labelling and Traceability Requirements evaluated a representative sample of food businesses including supermarkets; butchers; food service establishments; storage and distribution establishments; meat processing plants; and slaughterhouses and their compliance with meat labelling and traceability requirements. The audit reviewed the availability, accuracy and appropriateness of information provided on labels and information for non-prepacked meat products.

A total of 27 unannounced, on-site audits were conducted on food businesses with a particular emphasis on checking compliance with meat labelling and traceability requirements. Key results from the report include:

• Non-compliance with labelling requirements for prepacked food was detected in 18 of the establishments audited and 5 of these establishments had serious non-compliance.
• Non-compliance with food information requirements for non-prepacked foods (in retail and foodservice settings) was detected during audits of five establishments. One of these five establishments had a serious non-compliance.
• Non-compliance with traceability requirements was detected during audits of ten establishments. Five of these ten establishments had serious non-compliance.

Non-compliance with other aspects of food law, outside the planned scope of the audit, was also detected during audits of 17 of the establishments. At 14 of these 17 establishments, the non-compliance was considered serious. Corrective action reports have been issued to all the food businesses where non-compliance was detected.

The audit led to 10 formal enforcement actions by the food inspectorate or the FSAI against 6 food business operators. Some 14 recommendations were also made to strengthen compliance with food law, including instructing businesses to ensure that foods are labelled accurately. Another recommendation advised that compliance with traceability requirements should be improved and that food businesses should avail of the resources to assist them. It was also advised that food businesses minimise food waste by considering whether a ‘use-by’ date or ‘best before’ date should be applied to labels of prepacked frozen foods.
Speaking yesterday, Dr Pamela Byrne, (Chief Executive, FSAI), reminded food businesses that ensuring labelling and traceability legal requirements is key to safeguarding the health and interests of consumers.

Dr Byrne stated “While good practices were observed in some of the food businesses, disappointingly, this audit found that there was a varying degree of compliance by food businesses with meat labelling and traceability requirements. Fortunately, serious non-compliance with these requirements was confined to a small number of businesses. It is also disappointing that serious non-compliance outside the planned scope of the audit was observed at many of the businesses audited. Consumers have a right to safe food and their health and interests must be paramount to everything that food businesses do. We are continuing to work closely with the food inspectorate to explore opportunities to strengthen compliance with food law. We urge food businesses to ensure they are meeting their food safety legal requirements and they should also take full advantage of the information and support provided on our website www.fsai.ie“.

This targeted audit was carried out between August 2021 and March 2022.