Today, food is safer than ever before. This high level of food safety is ensured by high quality standards and a tightly knit network of controls that begins with the producers and ends with EU-wide monitoring programs (Austrian Food Safety Report 2018).

Entrepreneurs are responsible for the safety of the goods they produce or distribute and for compliance with food safety regulations. If a product is not safe, it must not be placed on the market or must be recalled from the market and the authorities and the public must be informed. The public is informed either by means of a notice in the business premises or, in the case of a risk to a larger section of the population, by means of a press release. If the manufacturer or distributor does not comply with this obligation, a product warning is issued by AGES on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Social Affairs, Health, Long-Term Care and Consumer Protection (BMSGPK).

In the years 2010-2019, a total of 1,028 product warnings, recalls and notices were published for food (including infant food and food supplements), food contact materials, cosmetics and toys. The most common reasons are for residues, microorganisms and foreign bodies. Among the most frequently affected product groups are toys, cereal products, meat and meat products, and dairy products.

DENISE SEITNER, WERNER WINDHAGER, LAURA-MARIA MÜLLER, INGRID KIEFER