New food fraud squad
A new food fraud division will support local authorities in taking swift action to stop illegal activity, as well as helping them uncover cases where consumers have been misled, says the UK’s Food Standards Agency.
The Food Fraud Advisory Unit (FFAU) is a group of 16 officials with extensive skills and experience in carrying out food fraud investigations, most of whom are local authority enforcement officers. The FFAU members have agreed, with the support of their employers, to provide advice, on request, to any UK local authority involved in investigating food fraud. This could include any illegal activity relating to food or feed, such as the sale of food that is unfit and potentially harmful, or the deliberate misdescription of food.