Crime unit seeks new powers to tackle food fraud
© Tim Scrivener Food crime chiefs are seeking new powers to allow them to more effectively tackle fraud in supply chains.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is consulting on a proposal to allow officers from the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) to be on premises and assist with searches, following an arrest by the police.
The move comes in the wake of Farmers Weekly’s exclusive investigation into industrial-scale food fraud at a meat processor, which was published earlier this year.
See also: Farmers Weekly convenes Meat: Our Expectations roundtable
FW has since launched a campaign to stamp out criminality in the sector – Meat: Our Expectations – that has triggered action from the regulator.
According to the FSA, the new legal powers are needed to allow the NFCU to investigate food crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with “autonomy” and reduce its dependency on local authorities and the police.
NFCU acting head Andrew Quinn said: “We’ve launched this consultation as we want to protect consumers and businesses from food fraud more effectively.
“This additional power of search and entry would be a vital tool to make sure investigations can be progressed more directly, while also freeing up local police services so their vital resources can be diverted to other priorities.
“At the same time, any use of these powers of entry and search will be restrained, focusing on effective regulation to prevent and detect food crime and subject to robust controls and external scrutiny.”