The food supervisory authority carried out around 5,500 controls in around 5,000 companies last year. In the process, 178 violations of hygiene regulations and 81 of other laws and regulations were found in 137 companies, said Astrid Zeller, head of the Upper Austrian Food Control Authority, yesterday at the presentation of the activity report.
Four plant closures
Of 307 suspected samples taken, 22 percent were objected to, nine turned out to be harmful to health. A total of four companies, three of them in the lake district and one in the Innviertel, had to be closed last year.
In terms of hygiene, those responsible for the operations were asked to be more careful when cleaning, to install new worktops or to close dowel holes in the walls, said Zeller. Misleading information or labeling on products, such as allergens that were not declared, was also problematic. Consumers were often deceived with incorrect weight or content information. “When examining a goose sausage, it turned out that the product contained no trace of a goose,” said Zeller. Strong microbial spoilage, for example in meat or fish, was also objected to.
Environment Councilor Stefan Kaineder (Greens) addressed a social trend: In order to counteract food waste, direct agricultural marketing is increasingly being boiled down. In this context, Zeller warned of a lack of hygiene, which “can also pose dangers”.
Source: Nachrichten
