Pulp tray producer Huhtamaki has played down any concerns to human health as a result of glass particles found in fruit trays in South Africa.
News of the contamination caused widespread concern in the industry since it became known last week. The issue relates only to pulp trays that were manufactured between 12 September 2011 and 7 March 2012, and there have been
no reported injuries to consumers in the UK or elsewhere.
UK retailers are understood to be closely monitoring the situation, and a spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium said supermarkets had “taken the necessary steps as per their own internal procedures”. According to a well-placed source some UK retailers have asked suppliers only to use polystyrene inserts in their packing, whileone is understood to have refused to accept fruit with pulp packaging. Another has apparently continued to accept fruit using pulp packaging.
Huhtamaki said studies showed the risk to human health or injury was negligible. “The situation does not warrant a product recall,” said Wil Rigby, general manager of Huhtamaki Molded Fiber in a letter circulated to the South African industry.
Rigby explained investigations were conducted by two London-based experts, Dr J H Burgoyne and Partners LLP, a pre-eminent practice of consulting scientists and engineers, and Simon Harris, a consultant laparoscopic, gastrointestinal and general surgeon.
“In summary, the glass particles found are very small, embedded in the fibre of the trays and require effort to be dislodged,” said Rigby. “The negligible risk to human health is further reduced by the fact that the majority of the fruit are also repacked prior to reaching the consumer.”
As the first contaminated trays were manufactured as early as September last year there could be significant volumes in the supply chain.
Meanwhile, South African industry body Hortgro has met with Huhtamaki to discuss possible co-ordinated actions to quantify and settle any claims regarding the incident.
“We are hopeful that we will be able to agree a joint process and team of experts to calculate the quantum of possible claims on a case-by-case basis,” said Anton Rabe, chief executive of Hortgro.
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