Food recall risks mount
POTENTIALLY dangerous foods are being recalled at a rate of more than one a week.
Australians with food allergies face the highest number of threats from products posing health and safety risks.
Of 626 recalls in the past decade, 37 per cent related to undeclared allergens, official figures reveal.
Microbial contamination including listeria, salmonella and E.coli triggered 28 per cent of recalls. Foreign matter such as metal, plastic and glass prompted 17 per cent.
“Food is recalled either because of a report or complaint from manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, government or consumers,” Food Standards Australia New Zealand said.
“It might also result from a food business’s own testing and auditing.
“Reasons can include manufacturing faults such as incorrect packaging or the wrong label, contaminated ingredients from third party suppliers, or a new manufacturing process.”
Processed food, confectionery, baked goods, and beverages were those most commonly pulled from shelves due to undeclared allergens, data from the nation’s food regulator shows.
High-profile food recalls include rockmelons, also known as cantaloupes, which were recently linked to a deadly national listeria outbreak.
A mass salmonella outbreak in 2016 was traced to packaged lettuce, while imported frozen berries have been at the centre of hepatitis A virus scares.
Meats and dairy were the main foods recalled due to the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, FSANZ records for 2008-2017 reveal.
Lettuce, sprouts, rockmelon, fresh parsley and dried herbs were among those tainted with salmonella bacteria.
Dairy products were the most likely to be recalled because of hygiene concerns de- tected in E.coli bacteria tests, along with fresh sprouts, salads and some processed meats.
Forty recalls were associated with biotoxins such as paralytic shellfish toxin found in oysters and mussels, and hydrocyanic acid, a naturally-occurring cyanide in tapioca chips and apricot kernels.
FSANZ coordinates recalls with state health authorities and food businesses.