Sloppily declared food

Niedersächsischer Verbraucherschutzbericht: sloppily declared food

08/11/2013

Despite all the scandals and warnings: Food and food accessories are still sloppily declared in Lower Saxony and consumers are deceived. The consumer protection report from Niedersachsen presented on Friday warns against maladministration.

Nickel on grilled food
Who currently uses the nice weather and grills outside, should exercise caution, because chrome-plated meat tongs and fish owners can give the allergy trigger nickel in the food. Lower Saxony's Minister of Agriculture Christian Meyer (Green) warned in Hannover on Friday about the danger and advised: „When grilling, use rather high-quality tools made of stainless steel.“ Chromed low-priced products could make nickel look like sausages, steaks or trout, according to the minister at the launch of the new consumer protection report. According to experts, five to ten percent of the population is allergic to nickel, and even low levels could trigger inflammatory skin irritation.

Not suitable for alcoholic drinks
Meyer advised also, with paper cups on the package note „Not suitable for alcoholic drinks“ to pay attention. So labeled disposable dishes should not be used for beer or wine, as the chemical substances could be released from the material by the alcohol and thus the body would be fed. According to the report, such references are such a thing, because all food scandals in spite of products in supermarkets, butchers or bakers and food in restaurants, canteens or snacks are often still declared sloppy.

Crushed Meat Porridge
Sometimes a chicken breast fillet, a sticky meat to a boiled ham or a hack of Turkish doner kebab are made from compressed meat pudding. In 2012, the State Office for Consumer Protection (LAVES) found faulty labeling in 32 percent of 1,047 samples of prepared meat. And for 1,660 processed sausages, the deficiency ratio was 28 percent. Information on preservatives was also missing on canned or preserving jars and cut bread bags were not all ingredients mentioned.
Moggles are no trivial offense
The minister declared: „These cheating are no trivial offense. "Because even if there is no danger to health, the buyer will be cheated and the honest manufacturers disadvantaged. „What it says must be in it too, "says Meyer, adding that consumers have a real freedom of choice.

32,400 violations in Lower Saxony
Of the nearly 113,000 businesses that are subject to official surveillance in Lower Saxony, 46,000 were visited by the local authorities last year. In total, there were 76,000 controls in which 32,400 violations were detected, said the Managing Director of the Lower Saxony County Association, Hubert Meyer. In addition to warnings, this resulted in fines in 487 cases and in 154 cases the prosecution was involved.

Cockroaches in the bakery
Common grievances were hygiene problems such as dirty towels or vermin in the production rooms. So a bakery in the greater Hanover had to close because of cockroaches for two days. The owner did not seem to understand. The 33,000 food samples examined by LAVES revealed defects in 14 percent, such as old frying fat. However, spoiled or even harmful goods were rare. However, the investigators found salmonella in a piglet sausage and hepatitis viruses in a strawberry slice.

Beware of raw poultry
Consumers should also pay attention to hygiene at home, advised Minister Meyer. For example, raw vigilance is more important in raw poultry. Germs would be killed while cooking, but you must be careful that not possibly meat juice contaminated other food or the environment. (Ad)