Southend-on-Sea City Council is working with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to stamp out the sale of illegally imported food.
Environmental Health Officers from the council’s Regulatory Services team joined forces with the FSA’s Import Delivery team to carry out checks at food retailers across Southend-on-Sea last week to remove any suspicious food products from sale.
Southend’s Environmental Health Officers advise local businesses that when buying animal-based food imported from non-EU countries, make sure they look carefully at the packaging. Labels should state: the name of the food in English, the country of origin and the contact number of the approved factory in which it was produced.
Stricter safety controls are applied to high-risk food, live animals and animal by-products imported from non‑EU countries. Imported food products must be from an approved establishment and are required to go through a designated Border Control Point in the UK for documentation checks.
Cllr Martin Terry, deputy leader and cabinet member for public protection, said: “This was an important joint operation between the council and the Food Standards Agency because imported foods may contain diseases harmful to human and animal health.
“I welcome this vigilance as with new markets opening up post-Brexit, we must remain committed to protecting our residents and ensuring high food standards are met.”
“If illegally imported foods are found at Southend retailers, our Environmental Health Officers may seize and destroy them. Food business operators may also be charged costs for the disposal of the seized food, and they could also face further enforcement actions.”
John Furzer, head of Imports Delivery at the Food Standards Agency, said: “Together with partners and local authorities across the nations, we’re working to ensure food is safe and what it says it is. Our Imports Delivery Team have been working with Southend-On-Sea City Council to build knowledge and understanding around imported food.
“This operation gave us an important opportunity to discuss current issues and join forces in assessing compliance of local food businesses, identifying potentially unsafe imported foods, and removing them from the market.”
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