Food business operators need to be aware of their food labelling responsibilities, a McCann FitzGerald partner has warned.
Karyn Harty, who advises on regulatory and criminal investigations at the Dublin 2 practice, says that recent comments by an English coroner throw a spotlight on the danger to consumers of inadequate labelling.
Food business operators must ensure compliance with legal requirements, she warns, and be fully aware of the potential regulatory and criminal consequences where consumers are harmed by hidden allergens.
Teenager Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died this summer in England after she ate sesame seeds, to which she was severely allergic. The 15-year-old Londoner collapsed on a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Nice after eating an artichoke, olive and tapenade baguette that contained sesame.
Allergic
In an inquest into Natasha’s death, a coroner found that the allergen to which she was allergic to was not listed on the sandwich’s ingredients label.
The acting West London coroner Séan Cummings expressed surprise that the baguette did not have accurate labelling because of reduced food labelling requirements for food produced onsite. General allergen warnings are sufficient under the law.
Pledge
Manufacturer Pret-a-Manger has now pledged to introduce full ingredient labelling.
“Where death or injury results from the inclusion of allergens without adequate labelling in food products, civil claims may of course result,” says Harty.
Food safety in Ireland is regulated by the Food Safety Authority. Laws on food information to consumers provide for criminal liability where there is non-compliance.
This legislation includes:
- European Union (Provision of Food Information to Consumers) Regulations 2014
- Health (Provision of Food Allergen Information to Consumers in respect of Non-Prepacked Food) Regulations 2014
- European Union (Origin Labelling of Meat) Regulations 2015
- Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998
Food business operators at all stages of the food chain should be aware of the scope and effect of these legislative provisions say McCann FitzGerald.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998 grants extensive powers to investigate and prosecute breaches of food safety legislation.