Safety pins, stones, and beetle found in food

A LIVE beetle in a bag of Caesar salad, a moth in a Madeira cake, insects and rodents scurrying around food premises.

No it’s not a scene from Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, but actual incidents reported to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) last year.

According to the FSAI, one in four of all calls related to consumers reporting issues concerning food and food establishments. The 2,126 complaints represented an increase of over 7% on 2009 and ranged from reports of unfit food, low hygiene standards, inaccurate labelling information and suspected food poisoning.

Contamination with foreign objects such as live and dead insects were frequently reported by consumers.

Other objects found in food included a tooth, a needle, safety pins, stones, and a cotton bud.

Other consumer concerns relating to poor hygiene standards in food premises ranged from staff not wearing hairnets when handling food, to no hot water or soap in bathroom facilities. Insects and rodents in food premises were also reported.

The advice line last year received a total of 10,898 queries and complaints.

According to the FSAI all complaints received were followed up and investigated by environmental health officers throughout the country.

Edel Conway, information manager with the FSAI, said the increase in reports is a positive indication of people’s heightened awareness of their right to expect high standards of hygiene and safety in relation to food.

“We welcome all reports and every single case we receive is followed up swiftly and directly with the food business involved.

“Consumers are becoming more vigilant, they expect and should get an adequate standard of food hygiene in every food establishment and across every food product they purchase.

“We encourage anyone who witnesses poor hygiene or food safety standards to report the matter to the FSAI, so that it can be investigated by the environmental health officers.”