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The FSA is publishing the results of a study to look at the origin of foods claiming to be from the UK and Ireland. The study did not identify any cases of food on sale with misleading country of origin claims.
The study examined 96 food samples (beef, pork, lamb, apple juice, tomatoes and honey) claimed to be from the UK, or from the Republic of Ireland. Samples were taken from mid-December 2013 to early January 2014.
The samples were mostly taken from retail or wholesale outlets, although four samples of raw beef burgers were obtained from caterers. The samples were not fully representative of the market, but, within the limitations of a small study, provided a reasonable spread across retailers and across the four countries of the UK. Samples were taken from both top end food ranges and economy ranges.
Of the 96 samples screened using SIRA, 78 were shown immediately to be consistent with the origin claimed and 18 were identified for follow-up investigation. Traceability and other evidence were requested for 17 of these samples. In all 17 cases the evidence supplied supported the country of origin claim.
Tuesday July 29, 2014/ FSA/ United Kingdom.
http://www.food.gov.uk
