Northern Irish food safety expert urges new UK fraud unit
A specialist food crime unit should be set up in the UK in the wake of the horsemeat scandal, a government-commissioned review by a food safety expert from Queen's University, Belfast has recommended.
Prof Chris Elliott, of the university's world renowned Institute for Global Food Security, said the UK has high standards of food safety. But he said the scandal, uncovered in January, "clearly showed criminal activity in the global food chain". He was commissioned by the UK Government to carry out an independent review of Britain's food system in the light of the recent horsemeat fraud.
He called for "intelligence hubs" to gather information on food crime. Prof Elliott's report said there was "a worrying lack of knowledge" the extent in which criminals were infiltrating the industry, he said.
Prof Elliott's interim report suggests a systems-based approach to tackling food fraud, recommending a system where:
industry, government and enforcement agencies always put the needs of consumers above all other considerations; this means giving food safety and crime prevention absolute priority over other objectives
there is zero tolerance for food fraud, so minor dishonesties are discouraged and the response to major dishonesties is punitive
there is a shared investment between government and industry in intelligence gathering and sharing, whilst having due regard to the sensitivities of the market
those involved with audit, inspection and enforcement have access to resilient, sustainable laboratory services that use standardised, validated methodologies
industry and regulators give weight to audit and assurance regimes, so as to allow credit where it is due; but also try to minimise duplication where possible
government support for the integrity and assurance of food supply networks is kept specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely (SMART)
there is clear leadership and coordination of investigations and prosecutions; and the public interest is recognised in active enforcement and significant penalties for significant food crimes
when a serious incident occurs the necessary mechanisms are in place so that regulators and industry can deal with it effectively