Press Releases
Council food seizures target illegal importation (PR 964)
Ealing Council’s Environmental Health officers have issued a warning to small food retailers and importers in the borough after identifying and seizing items illegally imported by a Merton-based company.
Local shop owners have been reminded of their responsibility to
check the source of products on their shelves and ensure they meet
the UK’s food safety and labelling laws.
By law, animal products from outside the European Union
require certification and must come from an approved producer in an
approved country.
The warning follows the identification and seizure of small
amounts of illegal food from a number of shops in the borough.
Items seized included vacuum-packed quail eggs in brine and
marinated mackerel, both originating from Japan.
Information collected from shop owners led officers to an
importer in Merton borough and they handed over the matter to
Merton Council for action. Last week, Merton Council officers
seized around 45kg of canned fish and almost 200 packs of quail
eggs from the importer, Miura-ya Ltd (625-627 Kingston Road, Raynes
Park), and issued a warning. The products will now be
destroyed.
Councillor Will Brooks, Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: "We want to stamp out illegal food imports, to ensure our residents are eating the safe and high quality food they deserve.
“In this case, our work took us across borough borders and we informed the Food Standards Agency and tipped off Merton Council to ensure action was taken.
"Food that comes in from outside the EU is produced under different food safety laws and may not be up to our standards.
“We will continue to visit local shops, wholesalers and importers to ensure they are doing the right thing and are fully aware of their responsibilities.”
The Ealing seizures were the result of the council’s regular unannounced visits to shops, wholesalers and importers in the borough. Over recent months, the Environmental Health team has been building a comprehensive database of companies and individual importers, including the types, origins and volumes of imported products.
This project supports the council’s priority of making Ealing’s communities safer. The council’s other two priorities are cleaner streets and providing value for money services.