Food recalls hit 10-year high with amphetamine contamination among the causes

Ireland experienced its highest rate of food recalls or withdrawals in a decade last year, with salmonella bacteria in soups and an amphetamine-like substance in a diet food supplement among some of the causes.

According to new figures from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), some 39 food alerts were issued in 2016 which led to either product recalls or withdrawals from the market due to the presence of a foreign body or presence of pathogens.

Examples varied greatly from recalls of dietetic foods/food supplements due to the presence of amphetamine-like substance to unauthorised novel food ingredients and, in one case, insufficient sterilisation of the product.