Food Fraud in the UK – Here We Go Again

It has been 10 years since a UK parliamentary committee reported on the meat contamination scandal that hit media headlines in 2013.

At the time, the committee expressed concern about the failure to bring prosecutions following the discovery that processed and frozen beef products containing horse DNA had infiltrated the UK and Ireland supply chain.

It concluded that the contamination ‘was a result of fraud and other criminal activity across the EU’ that had been perpetrated by ‘a complex, highly organised network of companies trading in and mislabelling frozen and processed meat or meat products’.

Now, fresh allegations of food fraud in the UK have sparked a National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) investigation. The allegations of mislabelled pork arose from an investigation by the Farmer’s Weekly magazine and suggest that a meat processor company providing meat to leading supermarkets, schools and hospitals passed off thousands of tonnes of foreign meat as being British and introduced spoiled meat into processed food products.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) – which operates the NFCU – has confirmed that a criminal investigation is under way.

These alleged frauds take place against strict supply chain controls in the UK, including detailed traceability records. These safeguards of provenance are not simply to make sure that edible products are of the nature and quality described on their labelling but also to act as a break in the circulation of infected food stuffs.

One reason that is being put forward for the increase in the number of reported cases of food fraud in the UK is the impact that the cost-of-living crisis is having on household income. Darren Davies, Head of the FSA’s NFCU, said ‘as a national regulator, we are the last line of defence. At a time when cost pressures and other challenges mean the risks of food fraud might be increasing, it is vital that everyone involved in the food system remains extra vigilant to ensure that food is safe and what it says it is’.

Despite concerns, the FSA has reassured consumers that, based on the investigation to date, there is no indication that the food in question is unsafe or there is an increased risk to public health.