Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps (a) her Department, (b) the Food Standards Agency and (c) the UK Health Security Agency have taken to help ensure that unsafe food is not placed on the market by companies that were involved in the outbreak of E.coli O157 in August 2020 and August 2022.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and other health protection agencies undertook a thorough investigation of this outbreak linked to fresh produce, which involved the appropriate food safety enforcement authorities for each site involved. A review of food safety management systems provided reassurance that robust controls were in place. Where opportunities for improvement were identified, the FSA along with the enforcing local authorities provided risk management advice to food businesses.

Following engagement with industry trade associations to assess industry practices and approaches to risk assessment mitigation across the fresh produce sector, a multi-agency working group has been formed to review standard practices across the industry.

The UK Health Security Agency undertook a surveillance study which included a retail sampling survey of fresh produce in 2023. Early monitoring of results indicates good safety practices in the fresh produce sector with no evidence of serious public health consequences.