In a report addressing food safety and authenticity in light of this year's horsemeat scandal, the UK's National Audit Office stresses the need for improved risk identification and responsibility sharing in order to avoid a repeat of similar food chain controversies.

One of the more unexpected insights in the report, though, is not a UK one but an Irish one. The NAO cite a recent analysis of a pizza product by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. The study revealed that one single pizza contained 35 different ingredients that had altogether passed through 60 countries and 5 continents. The brand of pizza was not identified.

This doesn't indicate any immediate danger or risk to consumers, of course, and some of this international variety is to be expected when ingredients can only be naturally produced in certain areas. However, it is cited as an example of the increasingly complicated supply chains that are involved in the production of standard food products - the vegetables on a pizza, for example, might come from an entirely different continent than the dough. This can pose major challenges for authorities attempting to identify risks and implement safety controls for food products.

You can read the full NAO report by clicking here. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland, meanwhile, will be hosting on open meeting on October 17th exploring 'who is responsible for what we eat?'. Participants will discuss the changing nature of food regulation. You can find more details here.