The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and a number of industry organizations have joined forces to combat food fraud. FSA chief executive, Emily Miles, has emphasized the need to protect the food system against rogue actors and criminal activity. The Association of Independent Meats Suppliers, the British Meat Processors Association, the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the Food Industry Intelligence Network, and Red Tractor have all agreed to collaborate with the FSA to achieve this aim.
The FSA intends to implement measures to strengthen the system against food fraud. One such measure involves establishing a single telephone number or website whistleblowers can use to report concerns about food businesses. The FSA also plans to explore how third-party audits can enhance their role in passing information to regulators to prevent food fraud and review the most effective format and mechanism for sharing intelligence-based alerts with businesses.
Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, has expressed his full support for the FSA’s efforts. Opie stated that the BRC is committed to ensuring a high level of safety, quality, and integrity in the food chain. The FSA’s proposed improvements, including creating a refined hotline for whistleblowers and sharing information more effectively, are measures that the BRC believes will help prevent and tackle food fraud.
Helen Sisson, Director and Co-Chair of the Food Industry Intelligence Network, has also welcomed the FSA’s commitment to tackle food fraud. Sisson stated that the public must have confidence in UK food, and it is essential to identify and deal with food crime in supply chains promptly.
The FSA’s greater collaboration with the industry follows a series of investigations into meat fraud since the start of the year. These investigations reveal the scale of the issue. In March, an investigation was launched into industrial-scale country of origin fraud in the pork supply chain. The investigation concluded that rotten meat was being supplied to healthcare facilities. Furthermore, media platforms such as Farmers Weekly have uncovered cases of manufacturers passing off foreign pork as British, “washing” visibly off hams, and mixing rotting pork with fresh product for further processing.
The FSA will convene a working group with industry, and the first meeting is planned for this month. The collaboration between FSA and industry aims to build confidence in UK food by combating food fraud and ensuring safety, quality, and integrity at all stages of the food chain.
