Food Alerts are the Food Standards Agency’s way of letting local authorities and consumers know about problems associated with food and, in some cases, provide details of action to be taken.
They are usually issued in conjunction with a product withdrawal or recall by a manufacturer, retailer or distributor, however, it is occasionally necessary for enforcement officers to contact or visit premises to ensure that all suspect products have been removed from sale.
Types
A Food Alert can be of 2 types:
Food Alert for Information
Where the warning is for information only and it is anticipated no further action is required (eg when a supermarket is aware of a problem and has withdrawn the products from sale)
Food Alert for Action
Where food business and local authorities must take the relevant precautions to ensure the food involved is removed from the food chain.
Up to date information on all current food alerts is published on the Food Standards Agency website.
