Shocking finds in food on the rise

A spider in instant noodles, mouse poo in ham, dental fillings in chocolate and needles in a wide range of food items are among the alleged nasty surprises consumers discovered while tucking into their food last year.

The Ministry for Primary Industries received 711 food complaints between November 28, 2019 and October 12, 2020, according to information released under the Official Information Act.

The largest number of foodrelated complaints were 236 about foreign objects found in food — 25 more than the previous year and almost three times more complaints than in 2017.

However, once investigated by MPI, the majority of the food complaints about foreign objects in food could not be tracked back to production, processing or point of sale.

Among the more alarming objects consumers claimed to find in their food was a spider in some instant noodles, an insect in a beer, a dental filling in some chocolate and rodent droppings in ham and canned tuna. There were also some pills reportedly found in a packet of instant coffee and a cigarette butt hiding in canned fish.

Needles were also found in anything from butter, cauliflower, peanuts and rice, and a pen appeared in bread products.

The biggest number of complaints involved glass in strawberries, and plastic in pickles, raw beef and sausages. Three complaints were received for each.

MPI could not substantiate, confirm or identify many of the claims. Others such as bones found in sausages, and plastic in some raw meat and cheese, resulted in product recalls.

In more serious offences such as metal shards found in raw beef mince, the product was recalled and the company received a warning letter.

There were also 122 complaints about either unregistered food businesses or non-compliance with food standards or programmes and 94 complaints about labelling, including not being compliant.

The 62 complaints relating to environmental factors such as a food firm’s cleanliness were significantly lower than the previous year’s 108 complaints.

There were also 30 complaints where people believed they had got sick from or reacted to an allergen in food or that the item included an allergen it shouldn’t have.

MPI compliance services director Gary Orr said complaints from the public helped the agency and councils better understand concerns and raised awareness within the food industry.

The ministry’s role was to ensure that anyone selling food was following the rules and that all food was safe and suitable to eat.

MPI considered the seriousness of the alleged conduct, the extent of harm claimed, and the compliance history of the food business operator.

The official response ranged from education and advice through to enforcement action where a business is told to stop selling unsafe food. At the most serious end, food businesses could be prosecuted, the statement said.