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Food Focus May 2008

Pulling product from the shelves

Pulling a food product from the market because of safety concerns is an expensive business. The cost of a recall can run into the tens of thousands of dollars, but a recall process is necessary for consumers to have confidence in the food supply

When people sit down to eat, they want to know that the food they put in their mouths is both safe and suitable. However, despite manufacturers’ best efforts it occasionally happens that food unfit for consumption lands on supermarket shelves or gets served up in food outlets. Recently Listeria monocytogenes-contaminated batches of sliced roast beef and silverside from an Auckland meat processor ended up being sold in a hospital café and other cafés. The whole country was able to follow media reports about how the local Public Health Unit (PHU) got involved to try and prevent any more people eating contaminated meats from the manufacturer in question and how health notices were placed in all the affected eateries.

It is impossible to guarantee that all foods are safe to eat despite the most stringent guidelines for food production. However, NZFSA has rigorous systems in place to ensure consumers can have confidence that foods found to pose a health risk are taken off the market.

Taking steps to minimise risks

Food safety issues can occur even within the best managed food business. If a food subsequently shown to be unsafe makes its way to the consumer it triggers a recall. These can be set off by a number of issues ranging from problems during production and storage of the food to consumer complaints or safety issues being picked up by regular monitoring programmes. Sometimes a manufacturer discovers the problem through their internal checking systems or it can be initiated by advice from overseas authorities. Customer complaints to a PHU or concerns from consumer groups that regularly monitor food can also result in a recall.

NZFSA Emergency Response Advisor Janice Attrill explains that when a suspected unsafe food is detected, a process is set in motion to gather all necessary facts to determine the scope of the issue and take the necessary steps to isolate, hold and promptly remove it from the distribution chain, if necessary, to minimise the risk to the consumer. This is done by recalling any batches of the contaminated food that might be available to the consumer and ensuring that affected products not yet on the shelves aren’t distributed.

“Generally companies are cooperative and often have decided to undertake a recall anyway”, says Janice. However, occasionally companies need to be ‘encouraged’ to do so, she adds.

If necessary, recalls can be coordinated with NZFSA and managed by the relevant PHU. The manufacturer of the recalled product and the PHU will work together to establish the extent of the problem, with the backing of NZFSA technical experts. If the product has reached consumers, the manufacturer must warn them of the recall by placing warnings in the media – usually newspapers – and at locations where the product has been sold. Consumers are also notified of any health risk consuming the food might pose and anyone potentially affected is given medical advice.

Numbers and types of recalls

NZFSA has been collating data on recalls since 2001. Between 2001 and 2007 there were 165 recalls. Undeclared allergens have been the most common reason for unsafe foods being removed from the distribution chain. There has been a major increase in this type of recall since December 2002, when mandatory warning statements on labels for food allergens were introduced. While there was only one recall in 2001 and one in 2002 because undeclared allergens were found, this number rose sharply the following year with 21 allergen-related recalls. It then settled down again with six such cases each in 2005 and 2006 and one case in 2007.

Finding foreign matter in products accounted for 49 recalls over the seven-year time period and isolation of foodborne illness-causing microorganisms in ready-to-eat foods stimulated another 34 recalls.

Our website has extensive information about recalls including a list of recalled products and a guide to lodging a complaint about a food.

Case in point

Waikato and Waitemata district health boards went into crisis mode when some of their café customers ate Listeria monocytogenes-contaminated sliced meats earlier this year

While the risk to most people of developing a Listeria infection after eating a contaminated product is very small, the pathogen can lead to serious illness if eaten by pregnant women, very young children, the elderly or anyone with a weakened immune system.

The culprit in this case was contaminated sliced roast beef and corned silverside produced by an Auckland small goods manufacturer. The contaminated meat ended up in the kitchens of at least three hospitals, where it had been offered for sale to customers at their cafés. The meat was also offered for sale to people eating at a range of cafés in the regions.

The Listeria contamination was first detected by Waikato Hospital through its food safety testing programme and the discovery led to the affected product being immediately withdrawn from its kitchens, and the hospital notifying the relevant authorities, including NZFSA and the local PHUs.

Auckland Regional Public Health Service swung into action to make sure the company didn’t distribute any more of the contaminated products. The manufacturer was ordered not to supply any bulk or sliced silverside, roast beef and ham until it could be declared safe. As part of an extensive testing programme the manufacturing process came under close scrutiny to see whether a possible source of contamination could be identified and their testing regime was upgraded to ensure more rigorous checking.

It was decided not to issue a recall in this case as the contaminated products would have already been eaten by consumers. Instead, notices were placed in the affected eateries to inform consumers of the possible risk of contamination and information about what to do if they suspected they had got sick.

Signs of listeriosis

Ready-to-eat products, such as deli meats and salads, and foods with a long refrigerated shelf life are often associated with the Listeria monocytogenes bacteria. Once food is contaminated with the bacteria they multiply at recommended refrigeration temperatures (2–4°C), in contrast to other pathogens that do not grow.

Listeria monocytogenes causes listeriosis, which is usually a mild gastroenteritis, but can be serious (about 20 cases per year). People more at risk of developing the invasive infection include pregnant women and their unborn children, newborn babies, older people and anyone whose immune system has been weakened by disease or illness. Listeriosis can take up to 70 days to develop.

If you or anyone in your household is in the higher risk group, you can reduce the risk of infection by taking a few simple precautions. Eat only foods that are freshly prepared and well-washed; follow good food hygiene practices, such as washing and drying hands; and cook foods thoroughly. Leftovers should be refrigerated immediately and should not be kept for more than two days.

More information on listeriosis signs and symptoms can be found on NZFSA’s website.