The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has today (Thursday, June 15) ordered Metron Stores Limited (trading as Iceland Ireland) to immediately remove all imported frozen food of animal origin from its stores.
The order applies to products which had been imported into Ireland by the company since March 3.
In addition, the FSAI is directing Iceland to recall the implicated products from consumers.
The enforcement action is due to a number of identified breaches of food legislation and an ongoing investigation.
FSAI
The affected food products may contain ingredients that come from an animal, such as chicken, meat, fish, eggs and dairy products.
The implicated products have not been subject to the necessary food safety controls and therefore may be unsafe to eat.
As a precaution, consumers are being asked not to eat any imported frozen food of animal origin bought from Iceland Ireland stores since March 3, 2023
The FSAI said that the reasons for serving this notice include:
- Inadequate evidence of traceability of imported frozen food of animal origin in Metron Stores Limited (trading as Iceland Ireland);
- There have been a number of incidents of non-compliance with import control legislation in relation to frozen foods of animal origin. Some frozen food of animal origin has been imported into Ireland without pre-notification and completion of entry declarations and health certificates since March 3, 2023.
This order is part of an ongoing investigation by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) and Revenue into undeclared frozen food of animal origin with no accompanying documentation for goods being imported by Metron Stores Limited trading as Iceland Ireland into Ireland.
DAFM officials have detained consignments of frozen food and issued an import control notice to return them to Britain or destroy them.
Officials at Dublin Port continue to assess the detained consignments to determine compliance with legal requirements and import controls.
Discussions with the company have taken place and the investigation involves the FSAI; the Environmental Health Service of the Health Service Executive (HSE); DAFM; and the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA).
The European Commission, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) UK, Food Standards Agency Northern Ireland and Food Standards Scotland are sharing relevant information to support the investigation.
Dr. Pamela Byrne, chief executive of the FSAI said these are very serious breaches of food law:
“To date, while we have no reports of any illness associated with implicated products from Iceland Ireland stores, in the absence of the company providing valid and correct traceability documentation as required by the law, we have to take a precautionary approach to best protect consumers, as we cannot be fully confident of the traceability and safety of these imported frozen foods of animal origin.
“It is the legal responsibility of any food business importing food into Ireland to make the correct import declarations for the food they are importing.
“All food businesses must also have full traceability information on the food they are importing, producing, distributing and selling.
“Due to these breaches of food legislation and in the interest of consumer protection, this action has been taken,” she added.
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