Tainted food may soon be seized by health inspectors

Press, 29 September 1988, Page 50

Tainted food may soon be seized by health inspectors

PA ’ Auckland Health inspectors plan to use “heavy-handed” powers to seize entire stocks of unhygienic or tainted foods because they have too little money to prosecute companies in court. Cost-cutting has forced the nine Health Department staff in central Auckland, who deal with complaints such as rats being found in bread or razor blades in cream sponges, to abandon 11 of the 16 prosecutions on their books. The department’s chief health protection officer for the area, Mr Ross Eades, warned food producers not to use the move as an excuse to ignore health standards. He said his staff would

not become “toothless tigers” but would vigorously follow up complaints about foreign objects in food, incorrect labelling of manufactured foods and excessive levels of additives and preservatives. Routine sampling of everything from milk to meat would continue. The department had the right to seize foodstuffs if part of the stock was found to be in breach of standards. If, for example, inspectors found a small quantity of jam had been produced which breached accepted standards “we would impound the whole lot of that year’s jam — and that might hurt the company more than being taken to court.”

Mr Eades said the company would then have to initiate a court appeal to the seizing order. In the past the department’s inspectors might have prosecuted the offending company. “It is very heavyhanded and I have personally got a feeling about seizing: it is a law made to prevent detriment to public health from food which has deteriorated or has a toxic substance or an excessive amount of preservative. “It is probably a little heavy-handed to use but we will have to look at it. It is up to us to get on with our job and keep up officers’ morale.” If companies blatantly ignored the action, prosecutions would result.

He said one prosecution he handled was abandoned after costing the department $2500 to ferry witnesses from Wellington to Auckland. The Director-General of Health, Dr George Salmond, said that “various statements made to the media” about food standards prosecutions would be investigated. He declined further comment. Wellington health inspectors say they do not yet have to consider seizing unhygienic food as a cheap alternative to court action. The acting manager of health protection for the Wellington region, Mr Derek Buckland, said no prosecution had been abandoned because of cost-cutting.

“But we could end up in that situation,” he\said. “We have a limited amount of money available for legal action. If we got involved in a long and expensive legal wrangle we could exhaust that sum. The regional Health Development Unit would then have to consider making seizings instead of pursuing court action. “We have to keep, all our options open,” Mr Buckland said. Seizings were being made at the moment but only where there was a danger to public health. The department had the right to seize foodstuffs if part of the stock was found to be in breach of standards.