Latest news with #foodsafety
Zawya
33 minutes ago
- Business
- Zawya
Dubai Municipality intensifies inspection campaigns to enhance food safety and public health during Eid Al-Adha
Intensive field inspections target food outlets, labour accommodations, salons, hotels, shisha cafés, and markets across Dubai. Consumer product safety campaigns launched to ensure compliance with approved standards in retail outlets. Public urged to report complaints or violations via the Dubai 24/7 app or call centre (800 900). Dubai, United Arab Emirates: Dubai Municipality has intensified its field inspection campaigns in preparation for the Eid Al-Adha holiday. The efforts aim to monitor the compliance of establishments and events operating in food safety, public health and safety, and environmental health. The campaigns ensure full adherence to approved standards and regulations, contributing to high levels of safety and supporting a sustainable food and public health system for the emirate's residents and visitors. Dubai Municipality has deployed approximately 150 specialised inspectors and field monitors across key domains, including food inspection, environmental health, public safety, consumer product safety, and workers' accommodations. These efforts form part of comprehensive inspection programmes that cover all areas of the Emirate of Dubai. Field teams from the Food Safety Department have carried out intensified visits to a range of food establishments, including markets, retail outlets, butcher shops, and shopping centres. The inspections aim to verify compliance with food safety regulations throughout all stages of food preparation — covering proper storage, handling, and transportation — to ensure consumer safety during the Eid period. The campaigns also target a wide range of establishments to ensure compliance with environmental and public health standards. These include hotels, salons and beauty centres, shisha cafés, entertainment venues, cinemas, labour accommodations, and community labour markets in areas such as Muhaisanah 2 and Al Quoz. Inspection teams have focused on evaluating the safety of water and air systems, sterilisation protocols, temperature control, maintenance records, the availability of qualified lifeguards at swimming pools, pest control procedures, and the general cleanliness of facilities. In parallel, Dubai Municipality has launched dedicated campaigns to monitor the safety of consumer products sold across local markets and retail outlets. These inspections ensure that products comply with health and safety standards, particularly during the heightened demand period surrounding Eid. Dubai Municipality affirmed its full readiness to receive reports and complaints from the public throughout Eid week. Community members can report observations related to food safety, environmental health, or public safety via the 'Dubai 24/7' smart app or by contacting the Municipality's call centre on 800 900.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Fears over tuna from major supermarket - after customer discovers tin laced with MAGGOTS
A mother has vowed to never eat tuna again after claiming to discover over a hundred maggots in a tin from a major supermarket. Bethany Bryson, 28, from Edinburgh in Scotland, found the maggots just before she was about to feed her son the tuna for lunch. The mother-of-one had bought the multipack of John West tinned tuna for £3.98 from Asda 's Edinburgh Supercentre store on May 23. When she returned home, she put her one-year-old son Hudson Gray down for a nap while she unpacked her shopping. She had intended on making her one year-old son a tuna and sweetcorn baguette for lunch—but her plans were quickly thrown out the window. Despite not noticing anything unusual about the cans in the store, when she went to take the top tin off she made a disgusting discovery. Ms Bryson said: 'This is going to sound like I'm exaggerating but maggots literally flew at me. 'I was in shock and disbelief. You know when your skin starts to crawl? 'I hadn't even opened the actual tin itself. The tin was open with all those maggots floating about.' The mother estimated there were more than 100 maggots crawling inside the tuna—as seen in stomach-churning footage. Manufacturer, John West Foods, who have apologised and offered her a £10 voucher, suggested the can had been damaged in transit prior to arriving to the supermarket. The experience traumatised Ms Bryson so much—she has vowed to never eat tuna again. 'I was sick. I didn't eat that whole day. I'm never going to touch tuna again. I wanted to jump in a shower with bleach because I felt disgusting,' she said. 'The smell was something unholy. That was something else. 'Tuna doesn't smell nice at the best of times but this didn't even smell like off fish or anything like that. I didn't know what it smelled like. It was potent. It was disgusting.' The mother, who works in customer service at another supermarket, also contacted Asda's customer service team. She also called up the Asda's Edinburgh Supercentre store to tell them about what had happened. Ms Bryson said the staff told her to bring the tuna tins into the store for testing and that they would remove the tins from the shelves. Armed with two pairs of disposable gloves, she had to fish through her bins to retrieve the tin. 'I had to bin raid to get the tins out. Luckily I have disposable gloves, I had two layers of them on. Two Ziploc bags and a nappy bag went into containing those tins,' she said. The manager offered her a £20 voucher as a gesture of goodwill when she returned to the store, she said. While Asda's head office apologised for her experience and offered her a £5 voucher, she said their response was unacceptable. She said: 'I was heated when I got that response and I replied back saying, '£5 when I was about to feed this to my one-year-old son, that's not acceptable.' 'I was like, "I do not want my little boy getting sick from that" because he obviously roams about the floor. 'He's walking but he does crawl about the kitchen sometimes so the last thing I want is remnants of maggots being on the floor for him to get unwell. 'I was actually horrified because if those maggots hadn't been fully developed into the size they were and I hadn't noticed they were in the tin I could have fed that to my son and that just makes me feel sick, it's horrible.' A John West spokesperson said: 'At John West, the safety of our consumers and the quality of our products are our highest priorities and we take this incident extremely seriously. 'No living animal could have survived the high-temperature sterilisation used in our production process. 'Based on the information currently available, it appears the can was damaged after packaging and during transit within the supply chain. 'This damage compromised the seal and allowed environmental contamination, ultimately leading to spoilage. 'While this appears to be an isolated incident, John West is working closely with logistics partners to ensure that product is being handled with care and that such an issue does not occur again. 'We are deeply sorry for the distress caused to the customer who purchased this product. We sincerely apologise for her experience and fully understand the concern and upset this has caused her and her family.'
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mérieux NutriSciences and AsureQuality Announce the Official Launch of Mérieux NutriSciences AQ (MNAQ) Joint Venture
CHICAGO and AUCKLAND, New Zealand, June 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Mérieux NutriSciences, a global leader in food safety, quality, and sustainability, and AsureQuality, New Zealand's premier food assurance provider, are pleased to announce the official launch of their joint venture, Mérieux NutriSciences AQ (MNAQ). The formation of MNAQ follows the successful completion of Mérieux NutriSciences' acquisition of Bureau Veritas' worldwide food testing activities, including its stake in the BVAQ joint ventures in Southeast Asia and Australia. With the transaction having officially closed in Southeast Asia in January 2025 and now finalized in Australia as of May 31st 2025, MNAQ is fully established and poised to become a leading provider of food testing, assurance, and sustainability solutions in both regions. Kim Ballinger, CEO of AsureQuality, highlighted the strategic significance of the partnership: "We are excited to officially launch MNAQ, reinforcing our commitment to delivering trusted food assurance services to the industry in Australia and Southeast Asia. This partnership with Mérieux NutriSciences strengthens our ability to support New Zealand exporters in key global markets and drive innovation in food safety and quality." Nicolas Cartier, CEO of Mérieux NutriSciences, echoed this enthusiasm: "The completion of this joint venture marks an important milestone in our global growth strategy and purpose. By combining our scientific expertise and deep industry knowledge, and leveraging a team of over 700 talented employees, MNAQ is uniquely positioned to serve our customers across the food value chain with high-value, science-based solutions. Together with our partners at AsureQuality, we are proud to contribute to safer, more sustainable food systems across Southeast Asia and Australia, and beyond." As MNAQ moves forward, it will focus on delivering innovative, science-driven solutions to support food industry players in the region. With a strong foundation built on technical excellence and a shared commitment to food integrity and customer-centricity, the joint venture aims to set new benchmarks for food assurance in Southeast Asia and Australia. About Mérieux NutriSciences: Mérieux NutriSciences leverages over 50 years of scientific and entrepreneurial expertise to answer food industry needs. Today's global challenges transform the way food is produced, marketed and consumed, which is why we know our clients need more than reliable analytical results; they need practical and innovative solutions that will contribute to make food systems safer, healthier and more sustainable. Present worldwide, we have more than 140 accredited laboratories and a team of over 10,000 talented employees. We strongly believe that together, we can create solutions to offer our planet: BETTER FOOD. BETTER HEALTH. BETTER WORLD. About AsureQuality: AsureQuality is a New Zealand government-owned entity providing integrated, end-to-end food assurance and services to the food and primary production sectors. With a scientific and agricultural heritage spanning 150 years, AsureQuality has built a trusted reputation for delivering expert services and value across the entire food supply chain. Media contacts:MÉRIEUX NUTRISCIENCES media@ marketing@ View original content: SOURCE Mérieux NutriSciences Sign in to access your portfolio
The Sun
a day ago
- Health
- The Sun
Shocking moment huge GECKO fell out of tin of Lidl sweetcorn in front of terrified dad as he cooked kids' tea
A GRANDFATHER was left with a sour taste after discovering a dead lizard in a tin of sweetcorn. John Shier, 53, was cooking a meal for his wife and son last month when he uncovered the fully preserved body of a gecko stuck to the can's lid. 6 6 6 The sales manager, of Spalding, Lincs, did a double take after spotting the seven centimetre-long creature and likened the discovery to something out of a "bushtucker trial". Pictures show the squashed lizard sitting on top of the yellow veggies and a visible imprint of the animal under the ring-pull lid. Dad-of-two John purchased the tin of Freshona sweetcorn from Lidl as part of a multipack and admitted he had some concerns over the contents of the remaining containers. Speaking to The Sun, he said: 'I thought I was on I'm a Celebrity, it was like a proper bushtucker trial challenge. 'I just wanted the sweetcorn, I didn't really want a seven centimetre gecko to go with it! 'I was just cooking at home and making a usual stir fry, which means I normally just throw everything into a wok. 'I had already added one tin of the sweetcorn, but in the process of opening the second one this thing just caught my eye. 'I did a double take and saw what was sitting right on the top of the tin. I've never seen anything like that before in my life. 'That was it after that, I didn't want to eat any of the ingredients I was eating because I couldn't be sure what was in there. None of us wanted to eat any of the food. 'It's lucky I spotted it really, I might have missed it or it could have been buried beneath the sweetcorn. 'If I had missed that and thrown it into the meal, or if it was buried in the tin, one of us might have ended up eating it. 'It's safe to say that every tinned item I've opened since has been sieved before use.' And John accused supermarket giants Lidl of 'not taking it seriously' when they offered him a ten pound voucher after being presented with the evidence of his extraordinary find. In a statement, Lidl said: 'It is never our intention for our customers to be dissatisfied in any way. 'We take matters of this nature extremely seriously and pride ourselves on the rigorous quality assurance processes we have in place across our supply chain. 'Reports of this kind are exceptionally rare – we've received no other customer complaints, and we believe this to be an isolated case. 'Nonetheless, our Quality Assurance team is in contact with the customer directly on this matter.' He added: 'This isn't a fly or a small insect, I would understand that because they are so miniscule. 6 6 'But this is a lizard, which is fully intact and measuring seven centimetres. 'I'm shocked at their response, I thought they would take it more seriously. 'I don't know the toxicity levels of a gecko but it could have been really poisonous. I certainly wouldn't want to take the risk of eating one. 'It's a bit of a joke. It's bad enough I could have served it to my wife or son, but one of my grandchildren could have been eating that meal. 'I spend money in that store religiously every week and there is no recognition of my loyalty in their response. 'I have been offered a measly ten pound voucher. I'm not sure if I'm more disgusted at the lack of empathy or the ridiculous gesture. 'I will not be shopping there again.' Exclusive by Summer Raemason THIS is the disgusting moment a massive spider crawls out of a family's Aldi bananas. Christopher Kirk picked up the fair trade produce at a supermarket on Carnation Way, Ashbourne, in the Peak District during the Easter holiday. When they got to the hotel, Christopher was alerted to the huge arachnid by his screaming two-year-old daughter. She shouted "spider" while her four-year-old sister also recoiled in terror. A stunned Christopher took the, thankfully unopened, bananas straight back to Aldi. He asked the store for a replacement which was accepted. The dad-of-two also uploaded images of the eight legged crawler onto an insect-identifier app. It generated results indicating it was a Huntsman Spider, which is a venomous species found in Asia. Christopher told The Sun: 'The holiday wasn't really disrupted - we just wanted our kids to be able to eat something healthy. 'At the end of the day, I considered it a living creature and I didn't want to harm it myself. 'However, we are now very wary of picking up bananas in a shop and inspect bags of them closely. 'We are also especially wary of loose bananas as it could well have been the bag that contained them that stopped us having a situation where one of us, including our young children, had been bitten." Thankfully no family members were bitten, albeit very shaken up. An Aldi spokesperson referred to Paul Hillyard, a leading authority on arachnids and Science Associate of the Natural History Museum in London. He said: 'The families known for attaching their egg sac to a banana are harmless to humans. "These small spiders sometimes build their nest on a banana because the fruit provides a safe and shady location close to the tiny fruit flies upon which the spiders feed (the spiders have no interest in the banana itself). 'The nesting practices used by these small, harmless spiders are very different to those used by the sort of tropical spiders that might justifiably cause alarm (e.g. the large, agile, huntsman-type spiders and Brazilian Wandering spiders) - most of these carry their egg sac in their jaws or bury it in the leaf litter, rather than attach it to a substrate such as a banana.' An Aldi spokesperson said: 'While it is extremely rare for naturally occurring foreign bodies like this to be found on fruit, it can happen in exceptional circumstances due to outdoor growing conditions. "However, we want to reassure our customers that this type of spider is harmless and poses no risk to their safety.' This comes as other shoppers from supermarkets across the UK have made horrifying discoveries. One customer was left disgusted after discovering some-fin fishy crawling in his Sainsbury's cod - a two- inch parasitic worm. He was looking forward to the fish for his Friday night supper, but lost his appetite after noticing the creepy-crawly. Elsewhere, a couple who ordered a McDonald's to help with their hangovers were left feeling even more sick after discovering a giant bug inside one of the burgers. Cathy Suzuki, 25, ordered the new Homestyle Crispy Chicken and a triple cheeseburger through the UberEats app as she and boyfriend Craig How recovered from the night before. The pair decided to split the £18.80 meal, and cut the chicken burger in half so it could be easily shared. However, when they did, a whopping insect dropped out from between the buns. Meanwhile, another mum found a snail in her McDonald's chicken wrap. And, this is the horrifying moment a family discovered a 'snake-like' creature slithering out of a Sainsbury's potato bag. The stomach-churning footage showed a slimy invader hiding inside the superstore packaging.
South China Morning Post
a day ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong pulls Haribo gummies from stores after cannabis taint in Netherlands
Hong Kong's food safety watchdog has instructed businesses to temporarily remove Haribo's gummy products from shelves as a precautionary measure, following reports from the Netherlands of cannabis contamination in certain batches of the popular sweets and an import suspension by Taiwan. Advertisement In response to the Post's queries, a government spokesman said on Sunday that while there had been no local reports of illness linked to German confectionery Haribo's cola-flavoured gummies, the Centre for Food Safety was taking action due to findings overseas. 'There have been no reports of discomfort among [residents] in Hong Kong from consuming the cola-flavoured gummies,' the statement said. 'However, in response to foreign reports and as a precautionary measure, the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has assisted in notifying the industry to temporarily remove the brand's gummies from shelves.' The government confirmed it would conduct tests on the recalled gummies and continue to monitor the situation. Advertisement 'If any problems are found, corresponding actions will be taken and announcements will be made,' the spokesman added. The Post has contacted Haribo for comment.
