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News

IAKOV FILIMONOV / SHUTTERSTOCK News New product recall group holds first meeting A set of recommendations is expected before the end of the year to tackle product recalls, following the rst meeting of a new working group set up in the wake of a serious at re in Hammersmith, London. The blaze, in Shepherds Bush, was caused by a faulty Whirlpool tumble dryer last August. The rst meeting of the Working Group on Product Recalls and Safety, held in November, was attended by consumer minister Margot James, key stakeholders from leading trade associations, trading standards professionals and the re service. The government-backed group is being led by Neil Gibbins, a former deputy chief re ofcer and chief executive of the Institution of Fire Engineers. The group has been asked to pay particular attention to: Identifying the causes of re in white goods and the action needed to reduce them Registration of electrical products at the point of sale Development of a code of practice for product recalls, including the peer review of risk assessments Improving the information available to consumers and the role of consumer education Ways to improve the capture and use of data relating to faulty electrical goods Value of marking white goods to preserve their identication through re The group will build on the progress made by the Recall Review Steering Group that was set up to consider the recommendations made by Lynn Faulds Woods independent review into product recalls. James said: This government is taking action to address consumer concerns over product safety. People need more information now and that is why my department has developed a specic portal, which acts as a one-stop shop for information on current product recalls. The minister has also met representatives from Whirlpool to understand better what measures it is taking to modify and replace appliances, and to impress upon the rm the need for better communication with its customers, to resolve issues faster, and reduce waiting times for modication of faulty products. Tesco action on wet wipes and microbeads Tesco has announced that its own-brand cosmetics and household cleaning products will be free from microbeads by the end of this year. After admitting the supermarket was slightly behind the game in terms of protecting marine life, Tim Smith, group quality director at Tesco, said the retailer is now asking all the companies whose brands it stocks to consider replacing microbeads with natural alternatives. Smith also said the do not flush warnings on Tescos non-flushable wet wipes are too small and the retailer will make these warnings more prominent. It also said it was altering its own-brand flushable wipes so they would break down more easily in the sewers. The government has called for a ban on the sale of personal care products containing microbeads by the end of 2017, as reported in last months TS Today. Asda fined 75,000 for selling out-of-date food at West Bridgford store were 10 days past their use-by date. The vast majority of items that were found to have passed their use by date during the inspection were chilled meat products selling food past its use-by date is deemed to be a criminal offence. There were also other chilled items that had passed their best before dates although it is not illegal to sell such products if the store is satisfied that the items are fit for human consumption and a cooked meat product with no labelling at all. The company pleaded guilty to one offence against the Food Safety and Hygiene Regulations 2013, and carried out a date check of the store, refresher staff training and a high-profile national staff briefing on date code management, following the inspection. SYLVIE LEBCHEK / SHUTTERSTOCK Asda Stores was fined 75,000 at Nottingham Crown Court on 10 November for selling out-of-date foods at its West Bridgford store, including a pack of haslet five months past its use-by date. Nottinghamshire Trading Standards officers inspected the store on 29 April 2015 following a complaint from a customer who purchased two packets of ham that Somerset farmer banned for life from keeping sheep A Somerset farmer has been banned from looking after sheep for the rest of his life, handed a 16-week suspended prison sentence and ned 5,000. Edgar John Keedwell, 70, of Chew Stoke, Somerset, was convicted of 13 animal welfare-related offences at North Somerset Magistrates Court in October. The conviction followed an investigation by Devon and Somerset Trading Standards Service (DSTSS), with support from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA). The court heard that Keedwell failed to seek veterinary advice for his sheep, which suffered variously from lesions, infections and lameness. One animal had an untreated abscess. He failed to isolate sick or injured animals promptly and despite requests by a visiting trading standards ofcer did not get treatment for a ewe with ystrike. When DSTSS and APHA ofcers visited the site, two of the affected animals were so emaciated they had to be destroyed, with the rest needing urgent treatment. Dozens of rotting sheep carcasses were found in elds containing live sheep and two large piles of decomposing carcasses were found on a heap and in a trailer. Prior to the visits, Keedwell had not consulted a vet and had failed to keep a record of mortalities. On 8 November, at Weston-super-Mare Magistrates Court, Keedwell was given a 16-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ned 5,000. He was also ordered to pay the full 6,363.95 prosecution costs and a victim surcharge of 80. The ne and costs, totalling 11,443.95, must be cleared within three years. Keedwell was disqualied from keeping sheep for the rest of his life and cannot apply for the disqualication to be reviewed or removed for ve years. The disqualication is suspended for four months until 8 March 2017, to allow him to dispose of his current stock. Trading standards net unsafe products from ports Thurrock Trading Standards has stopped more than 28,500 unsafe and non-compliant products entering the UK by working in partnership with DP World London Gateway and the Port of Tilbury. During the inspections, between April and September this year, officers examined 185 products to determine whether they were suitable for the public. Items seized posed a number of risks, including choking and electric shock. Thurrocks portfolio holder for neighbourhoods, Sue MacPherson, said: By preventing these products from entering the supply chain, we have saved the UK economy almost 900,000, which would have been spent on dealing with product recalls, injuries and fires. The seized goods, which were destroyed at the border at the expense of the importer, included: 7,800 plastic toys imported from China whose small parts pose a choking hazard 3,000 skin-lightening creams imported from Nigeria 60 seashell lamps fitted with a two-pin plug that posed a serious risk of electric shock 50 folding electric bicycles (known as pedelecs), not CE marked 956 plush monkey dolls that posed a choking hazard and were not CE marked