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Stricter safety checks across the supply chain
The recall of Irish pork products in the Irish Republic and subsequent advice in the UK highlights the need for immediate actions by manufacturers and suppliers and in the longer term for stricter safety checks across the supply chain, according to product liability experts from international law firm Eversheds.
By Richard Matthews
The Food Standards Agency is currently advising consumers not to eat pork or pork products labelled as coming from the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland whilst it investigates whether contaminated products covered by the recall in the Republic have entered the distribution chain in the UK. If they have done so, the industry can expect the FSA to act quickly in initiating a withdrawal of affected products.In the current circumstances, the advice from the FSA and the Irish Food Safety Authority is that the dioxin contaminants at the very low levels detected should not pose significant risk to consumers and are highly unlikely to lead to health effects. However, food businesses will need to adopt a proactive approach in cases such as this to protect their brands and their customers' confidence in their products.
Processers and suppliers should be checking the sources of their supplies of product and quarantining stock pending further information. Businesses will want to be checking that their traceability records are up-to-date and working closely with both suppliers and customers.
Businesses may also want to be checking the terms of supply arrangements and whether they have insurance policies which might respond and speaking to brokers and specialist lawyers about their position.
Going forward, there will need to be a thorough investigation into how, as currently appears to be the case, animal feedstuffs in the Republic came to be contaminated with dioxins in this way and whether it could have been picked up more quickly. Some companies will want to be revisiting their safety procedures and insurance arrangements in light of this latest recall.
Richard Matthews is head of product liability at Eversheds
Tagged as: eversheds
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