Category: News Item

A no-deal Brexit threatens the UK's food security and will lead to higher prices and empty shelves in the short-term, retailers are warning.

UK retailers' industry group the British Retail Consortium has written to MPs with the warning, saying that the food retail sector's complex just-in-time supply chain will be significantly disrupted in the event of no deal.

The letter was co-signed by several of the major UK food retailers, including the chief executives of Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury, Asda and Morrisons.

It said: "Even if the UK government does not undertake checks on products at the border, there will still be major disruption at Calais as the French government has said it will enforce sanitary and customs checks on exports from the EU, which will lead to long delays.

"For consumers, this will reduce the availability and shelf life of many products in our stores.”

"We are extremely concerned that our customers will be among the first to experience the realities of a no deal Brexit," the letter says.

The letter uses the government's own projection that freight through Calais may fall 87% from current levels, threatening the availability and shelf life of many products.

It expresses worry over tariffs, with only 10% of the UK's food imports currently subject to World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.

The retailers are warning that if the UK reverts to WTO rules, following departure from the European Union in March, the tariffs would "greatly increase import costs that would in turn put upward pressure on food prices".

The letter spells out the UK's food relationship with Europe, with nearly one third of the food in the UK coming from the EU.

"In March, the situation becomes more acute as UK produce is out of season," the letter says.

The letter points out that at that time of year, 90% of lettuces, 80% of tomatoes and 70% of soft fruit sold in the UK is grown in the EU.

"As this produce is fresh and perishable, it needs to be moved quickly from farms to our stores," the retailers say.

Their letter says that stockpiling fresh food is impossible and that the complex, just-in-time supply chain through which food is imported into the UK will be "significantly disrupted" in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

It adds it is difficult to stockpile any more produce as "all frozen and chilled storage is already been used".

"While we have been working closely with our suppliers on contingency plans, it is not possible to mitigate all the risks to our supply chains and we fear significant disruption as a result if there is no Brexit deal," the retailers say in the letter to MPs.

The retailers say that while they are looking for alternate supply routes, there are limited options and not enough ferries.

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "The UK has a high level of food security built upon a diverse range of sources including strong domestic production and imports from other countries. This will continue to be the case whether we leave the EU with or without a deal."

They added the government had "well established" ways of working with the food industry to prevent disruption.

New allergen rules have been proposed, including listing all ingredients and allergens on foods which are prepacked for direct sale.

Food Standards Scotland, Food Standards Agency and the Department for Health and Social Care have launched a consultation on amending allergen information provisions contained within domestic food information legislation for food prepacked for direct sale

The nine- week public consultation puts forward four options on how to improve the provision of allergen information for food sold prepacked for direct sale. 

The following options have been identified as:

·      mandating full ingredient list labelling

·      mandating allergen-only labelling on food packaging

·      mandating ‘ask the staff’ labels on all products, with supporting information for consumers available in writing

·      promoting best practice around communicating allergen information to consumers

The definition of prepacked for direct sale is not in scope for the consultation. However, the rules would apply to all foods packed on the same premises from which they are being sold, before they are offered for sale. This would include those made onsite, before being placed on a shelf for sale.

The consultation follows the tragic death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, the teenager who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette in 2016. The dough in the baguette contained sesame, to which she was allergic. The coroner at her inquest repored that Pret’s allergy labelling had been “inadequate”.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:

Natasha’s parents have suffered a terrible loss, and I want to pay tribute to Nadim and Tanya for their inspirational work to deliver Natasha’s law.

We want to ensure that labels are clearer and that the rules for businesses are more consistent – so that allergy sufferers in this country can have confidence in the safety of their food.

Many businesses are already bringing changes on board independently, and in the meantime they should continue doing all they can to give consumers the information they need.

The consultation can be found here, the consultation ends 29 March 2019.

A construction company has been fined £600,000 over the death of a workman who was struck by a dump truck.

Vincent Ramsay, 55, was killed at a former tram depot in Leith, Edinburgh in 2016, when a dumper truck ran over him at the bottom of a dirt ramp leading into an underground car park.

The father-of four had been crouching down to spray markings when he was hit.

London-based Allenbuild Ltd plead guilty to health and safety offences at Edinburgh Sheriff Court and on 1 February 2019 were fined.

Sheriff Norman McFadyen said the purpose of the £600,000 fine was to bring home to both management and shareholders the need to comply with health and safety legislation.

He said: “It is not to put a value on a human life and that is not what the court is doing. It is punishing the company”.

The incident took place at a former bus and tram depot in Leith known as Shrubhill.
Allenbuild Ltd had been developing the site for housing and the accident occurred at the bottom of a dirt ramp leading to an underground car park.

The court heard that the truck, which was carrying excavated earth, had stopped to allow other vehicles to manoeuvre. But due to restricted visibility caused by the skip and its load, the driver then ran over Mr Ramsay when he moved off.

Sheriff McFadyen said the company should have recognised there were instances where site personnel had to access the underground car park on or near routes used by vehicles.

He said the firm should have taken to measures to ensure that they were not at risk of being struck and ensured work in that area was better scheduled.

He accepted that the company had been in business for more than 70 years, had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. This led to him slightly reducing the size of the fine.

He concluded by expressing his own condolences and sympathy to Mr Ramsay’s family.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Topshop owners, Arcadia Group Ltd have been fined £450,000 after pleading guilty to a single charge under the Health and Safety Work Act 1974.

This was following a health and safety investigation by Environmental Health at Glasgow City Council into an injury of a 10-year- old girl at a Topshop store when part of a barrier fell on her head on 7 February 2017.

The investigation found that the company failed to ensure to ensure that a queue barrier was fixed to the floor or properly secured, between January 2016 and February 2017. Inquiries revealed that that barrier and a second that had been brought to the shop were both insecure and not attached to the floor properly and removed.

The schoolgirl was with her mother at Silverburn Shopping centre in Pollok, Glasgow, when a queue barrier she swung on landed on her. She was taken to the Royal Hospital for Children where she was found to have a skull fracture. This led to the girl, who is now aged 12, being hurt to her severe injury and permanent disfigurement.

The court heard the barriers were usually only used in “flagship stores” and the Silverburn shop was not in this category. They had been removed from the Argyle Street store in Glasgow city centre and moved to Silverburn at some stage between January and March 2016. But the court heard they had not been correctly installed.
Sheriff Paul Crozier described it as a “sad and serious incident”.

He said: “As a result of the company’s failings a 10-year-old suffered a severe injury and permanent disfigurement.”

However, he noted that the firm had “taken steps to make sure there is no repeat of that breach”.

The court heard that that the barrier – used to guide customers near the till area – was of a type usually used in “flagship” stores, and not ones such as Silverburn.

An Arcadia spokeswoman said: “The Arcadia Group remains saddened by the injury suffered by the young girl as a result of this incident and our thoughts are with her and her family.

“The health and safety of our customers and employees is of the utmost importance to us.
“The sheriff recognised that Arcadia has co-operated fully with Glasgow City Council and, at the first opportunity, pleaded guilty to a single charge brought under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

“Arcadia accepts that its system for the transfer of fittings between stores was not as robust as it should have been and this led to an unsecured fixture being present in the Silverburn store.

“We apologise unreservedly for this.”

A similar incident occurred in a Topshop store in Reading a week after, when a 10 year old died after a display queue barrier fell on his head on 13 February 2017. However, following a police investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided there is “not a realistic prospect” of conviction.

Following the decision by the CPS, the investigation now transfers to Reading Borough Council to consider action in respect of any Health and Safety offences that may have occurred.

Earlier this week, on the 14 January 2019, the UK Government published its Clean Air Strategy, outlining how England will set out reducing the prevalence of harmful air pollutants.

Air pollution is one of the biggest threats to public health in the UK – behind only cancer, obesity and heart disease – and the measures set out in the Clean Air Strategy will cut the costs of air pollution to society by £1.7 billion every year by 2020, rising to £5.3 billion every year from 2030.

This document builds on an extensive consultation process undertaken last year.

Unlike previous plans which have focused on transport and energy emissions, the strategy aims to tackles a number of smaller, more diffuse sources. As a result, emissions from agricultural, domestic and smaller industrial sites are now included the strategy. 

Key measures include:

• Ambitious long-term target to reduce exposure to particulate matter (PM) in line with World Health Organisation recommendations. It will publish evidence early in 2019 to examine what action would be needed to meet the WHO’s guideline limits.
• Tackling the UK’s biggest source of PM – open fires and solid fuel stoves – by banning the sale of wet wood, prohibit the most-polluting fuels and ensure only the cleanest stoves are available by 2022
• A reduction in ammonia pollution through supporting farmers to invest in infrastructure to reduce emissions, introduce low-ammonia agricultural regulations
• Reporting annually on the impacts of air pollution on natural habitats
• Requirements for the rail industry to produce a road map to phase out diesel-only trains by 2040
• Producing guidelines in 2019 to help ports develop air quality strategies

International air quality commitments have been agreed at a UK level. However, air quality is a substantially devolved policy area. Wales and Northern Ireland are currently in the process of drafting their own strategies.

Meanwhile, Scotland has already produced its own Air Quality Strategy Cleaner Air for Scotland – The Road to a Healthier Future(CAFS) – Scotland’s first separate air quality strategy. CAFS sets out in detail how Scotland intends to deliver further air quality improvements over the coming years. 

The most recent CAFS annual progress report was published in August 2018 and summarises progress on delivering the actions. 

The Scottish Government announced that a comprehensive review of CAFS will be undertaken and completed by the end of 2019. Scotland has largely seen reductions in emissions of the five NECD pollutants in recent years. 

A National Air Pollution Control Programme will be developed in partnership with the UK Government and Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as required under the National Emissions Ceilings Directive for publication in 2019.

The Scottish Government have recently published the National Low Emissions Framework (NLEF).  

The Framework provides a methodology for local authorities to undertake air quality assessment to inform decisions on transport related actions to improve local air quality, where transport is identified as the key contributor to air quality problems. 

The NLEF supports and builds on the work already being done through the Local Air Quality Management (LAQM) system

Local authorities in Scotland should have regard to NLEF when undertaking their local air quality management duties and developing their air quality action plans.

The NLEF will contribute to the vision set out in Cleaner Air for Scotland The Road to a Healthier Future (CAFS) for Scotland to have the best air quality in Europe by assisting in the consideration of actions that will reduce the impacts of pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter (PM) 

The NLEF also has a correlation to the National Transport Strategy key strategic outcomes, which has a particular focus on reducing emissions to tackle climate change, air quality, health improvement, along with cross over to elements such as congestion and accessibility. 

The NLEF can be found on the Air Quality Scotland Website here.

Abattoirs will need to install CCTV cameras in all areas where there are live animals are present under new legislation to be introduced by the Scottish Government.

It has pledged to bring forward legislation later in the year.

This is intended to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare in abattoirs, by helping those responsible for enforcing welfare legislation.

The proposal was backed by the vast majority of respondents to a recent consultation carried out by the Scottish Government.

Announcing the news ahead of a Parliamentary Statement on Animal Welfare, Minister for Rural Affairs and the Natural Environment Mairi Gougeon said:

“More than eight out of ten slaughterhouses in Scotland have already installed CCTV coverage in their premises voluntarily, and over 95% of all animals slaughtered in Scotland are covered by some form of CCTV. However, the standards of that coverage can differ from location to location.

“This government is committed to ensuring the highest standards of welfare for all animals. And we are pleased that so many respondents to our consultation backed our proposals to make this compulsory. It was important also to consider the financial implications of such a move for industry, and whether other options might be available to improve animal welfare.

“Following a positive response to the consultation, I’m delighted to announce that I will introduce legislation to the Scottish Parliament in 2019, which will help to improve further the already high standards being followed by the livestock sector in Scotland.”

Animal rights groups have claimed that the abuse of animals is widespread in slaughterhouses, and believe independently-monitored CCTV cameras will help to limit their suffering.

The Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers welcomed the Scottish government announcement, but said more than 95% of animals slaughtered in Scotland go through abattoirs that already use CCTV systems.

It also insisted the industry had an “open and transparent approach” with the veterinary authorities and follows the strict welfare controls which are monitored by Food Standards Scotland.

A spokesman for the association said some existing CCTV systems may need to be upgraded or completely replaced under the proposals, and called for assurances that the industry will be given help to meet any additional costs as has already happened in Wales.

Two patients have died after contracting a fungal infection linked to pigeon droppings at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

The individuals are thought have caught the airborne disease at the hospital after inhaling the fungus cryptococcus, typically found in soil and pigeon droppings.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has launched an investigation into the outbreak. It said the likely source of the pigeon droppings was a non-public room, thought to contain machinery, which has now been cleaned.

NHSGGC said “control measures” had been introduced. Portable HEPA air filter units have been installed in specific areas as an additional precaution. In addition, a small number of vulnerable paediatric and adult patients are receiving medication to protect them against the airborne infection, which is a Cryptococcus species.

The health board said that the second patient who died was elderly and the death was due to an unrelated matter. It said it could not share further details of the case because of patient confidentiality.

A NHSGGC spokesman said: “Our thoughts are with the families at this distressing time.

“Due to patient confidentiality we cannot share further details of the two cases.

“The organism is harmless to the vast majority of people and rarely causes disease in humans.”

Teresa Inkster, NHSGGC lead consultant for infection control, said: “Cryptococcus lives in the environment throughout the world. It rarely causes infection in humans. People can become infected with it after breathing in the microscopic fungi, although most people who are exposed to it never get sick from it.”

She said there had been no further cases since control measures were put in place. “We are continuing to monitor the air quality and these results are being analysed. It remains our priority to ensure a safe environment for patients and staff,” she added.

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Hugh Pennington, of Aberdeen University, said he was surprised to learn of the infection.

The epidemiologist said: “It is very unusual in the UK.

“It is quite common in other parts of the world, particularly in tropical parts and in the US and in countries like that, where they have more problems with this particular kind of fungus.”

Prof Pennington said people with weak immune systems are most at risk.

He added: “When it gets into the blood stream a lot of people have fairly straightforward infections and it settles in the lungs but the big problem with this is that it can cause meningitis and, as we know, meningitis can be a very serious infection.”

Prof Pennington said anti-fungal drugs are used to treat the infection but warned it can be fatal if it is not diagnosed.

The expert said a key priority would have been stopping the airborne infection from entering the hospital’s ventilation system.

He added: “Obviously they have stopped the pigeons getting into the machine room.

“It surprises me slightly that there was any there in the first place.”

Several restaurants listed on the food delivery app Just Eat have been providing incorrect information concerning food allergens, a BBC Panorama investigation has discovered.

The research, also found that over 100 restaurants listed on the app had a food hygiene rating of zero, despite some being promoted by Just Eat as a “local legend”. 

Just Eat does not require restaurants to provide any allergen information on their app or website. Customers are expected to contact the restaurants directly to directly to find out allergen information.

However, even when customers do so, they’re not guaranteed to receive accurate information about the ingredients that their food contains, the documentary finds.

BBC Panorama reporter Tina Daheley pretended to be a customer with food allergies when ordering food at restaurants through Just Eat. 

She ordered a chicken chow mein dish from Tong Feng House in Greater Manchester, a restaurant that has five-star customer views on the Just Eat app but a zero-star hygiene rating.  Despite being assured that the dish didn’t contain any wheat, this claim proved to be false when the food was sent for scientific testing.

Daheley also ordered a burger without a bun from Mama Mia Pizza in Birmingham, another restaurant with a zero-star hygiene rating. The reporter was incorrectly informed by an employee that the burger didn’t contain any wheat.

In another instance, Daheley called Karo’s Pizza in Liverpool to ask whether it would be safe for her to eat their cheese burger as an individual with a wheat allergy, a question that the employee on the phone was unable to confidently answer.

JustEat says it has launched an investigation into the matter and said that it was concerned to discover restaurants were not giving accurate information, saying it had “we have already offered further support and training”. The company told Panorama: “We are investigating how this has happened to stop this from happening again.”

Shirley Cramer CBE, the chief executive of the Royal Society for Public Health, said: “The food hygiene rating system is vastly important for us understanding how good a restaurant is. I don’t think in anybody’s mind [a zero-rated restaurant] would be a ‘local legend’.”

BBC Panorama “Takeaway Secrets Exposed” was aired on 14 January and can be viewed here.

Highland Spring has announced its water bottles will be produced from 100% recycled plastic following a successful 2018 trial.

This month will see the permanent launch of the Highland Spring eco bottle across supermarkets.

The bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic, excluding the cap and label, which are themselves recyclable, the company said.

The bottle, which will be a permanent part of the company’s UK products range, will be slightly cloudier than standard versions.

They are also more expensive to manufacture, which may add around 5p to the total cost when they are sent out into stores across the country this month.

Highland Spring said customers had expressed a “significant desire” for more eco bottles when trialled at Tesco and Sainsbury’s stores last summer.

Group chief executive Les Montgomery said: “We are grateful to shoppers who gave us their thoughts and feedback.

“Increasing our use of recycled plastic is an absolute priority for Highland Spring and this is a hugely exciting step in our mission to provide healthy hydration choices in environmentally sustainable ways.”

Waste collection systems used throughout the UK could be causing significant long-term musculoskeletal issues for workers, research has shown. 

Researchers from the University of Greenwich and Glasgow Caledonian University surveyed more than 200 refuse workers over four years investigating musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) arising out of different recycling and waste collection systems.

MSDs cover any injury, damage or disorder of the joints or other tissues in the upper or lower limbs or the back and can be made worse by workplace conditions.

In the research published by in the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) Policy and Practice in Health and Safety journal, it was found that recorded pain from collection injuries rose by 25 per cent in 2014 following a growth in garden refuse and food waste collections.

It shows that wheeled bin-based services are associated with fewer MSD injuries than services including boxes, baskets and sacks and suggests Local Authorities should discontinue 'box type' collections on MSD grounds as a matter of urgency.

The team observed workers' experiences of MSDs through body mapping, with workers identifying where they collectively felt pain or discomfort during their work activities and recording the results via a chart or questionnaire. The study is the first time body mapping has been applied as a risk assessment toolfor MSDs in waste collection.

The study identified a relationship between pain quantity and distribution experienced by the workforce undertaking different collection systems.

Dr David Thomas, of the University of Greenwich and a Member of IOSH’s Environmental and Waste Management Group Committee said: "The findings of this research present a timely opportunity for organisations to consider how they protect their workforces. Rather than organisations focusing on generic 'capability' for a 'fit youngster' they need to consider how they accommodate an ever-increasing ageing workforce when developing systems of work.

"It is also an opportunity for organisations to accept that their current methods of managing work can create ill-health problems and consider ways to make workforces more sustainable in the future including changing systems of work."

As part of the study, three surveys were carried with the same local authority workforce over the four-year process.

The first survey examined the pain experienced by workers using waste management methods in use in 2010. The second two surveys examined the workforce after the implementation of a new waste management system in 2013 and then in 2014 after it had become embedded.

The overall severity of pain dropped significantly when comparing 2010 and 2013, and only increased in 2014 by approximately 25 percent. This latter increase included demands from additional garden waste and food waste collections over this period.

Workers reported the parts of the body with highest APC were the lower back, shoulder, neck and upper spine, which decreased with a reduction in manual handling following the removal of boxes and baskets and an increase in the use of wheeled bins.

Less pain and reduced risk was also experienced when there were aspects of job rotation, due to the variation of task and the reduction in static loading for drivers.

The research confirms previously established links between awkward occupational postures and lower back pain, which can often be a result of bending, twisting, lifting boxes and sorting recycling into different components and bins.

Andy Robertson, IOSH Environmental & Waste Management Group Chair, said: "Figures released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show around 70 percent of all workers in the Waste Management industry are involved in municipal household and commercial collections. These collections account for about 80 percent of all the reported injuries, with the most common being musculoskeletal disorders.

"Having been key to IOSH Environmental & Waste Management Group's development of a free training package for Local Authorities, which is aimed at the development of Line Managers' competence to safely manage teams carrying out municipal waste collection, this research further supports the direction Local Authorities should be taking in order to protect the health of workers collecting municipal waste on their behalf."

The paper, "Using body mapping as part of the risk assessment process – a case study," appeared in the journal Policy and Practice in the Health and Safety, which is published by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. 

The majority of Scots support action to reduce the levels of sugar, fat and salt in food, according to the latest Scottish Social Attitudes (SSA) survey.

Findings from the survey “Public attitudes to reducing levels of overweight and obesity in Scotland” found the majority (91%) thought cheap fast food was too easily accessible. 

The SSA survey commissioned by NHS Health and carried out in 2016, included a module on obesity to find out what people think about action to tackle obesity.

The most popular measure to tackle obesity (86%) was more free weight management courses and the second most popular measure (82%) was for limiting the amount of fat, sugar and salt that can be added to food and drink by manufacturers. 

The study found 62% supported a tax on sugary fizzy drinks, however, it found there to be less support (47%) for taxation on foods high in fat, suggesting that, currently, the public perceive foods high fat differently to those high in sugar. 

Seven out of 10 people agreed that levels of people being overweight and obese was a problem that needed to be addressed. 

About 80% of those asked agreed with the statement that most people are overweight because they eat too much and exercise too little.

Even more (91%) said people were overweight because of the type of food they ate. Less than a fifth of people surveyed said being overweight was something inherited from parents or because of low metabolism.

When asked who is responsible for reducing obesity in Scotland most thought individuals who are very overweight (obese) themselves were responsible. The next most frequently selected groups were healthcare professionals (e.g. doctors or nurses), food and drink manufacturers, schools and family and friends of people who are very overweight (obese).

The survey also found that 66% backed restricting unhealthy foods at supermarket checkouts. There was also majority support for restrictions on advertising and sponsorship, and restrictions on portion size.

According to the survey, people "underestimated" the health effects of being overweight and obese. Less than half the population understood the risk of cancer from being obese, it said.

Scotland has one of the highest levels of overweight and obesity among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.  The percentage of adults in Scotland who are overweight and obese rose from 52% in 1995 to 65% in 2016, including 29% that are obese.

The obesity module in the SSA survey included 40 questions which were developed in consultation with colleagues from NHS Health Scotland. A random sample of 1,237 individuals aged 16 years and older in Scotland took part in the survey.