FSA welcomes Elliott horsemeat report

The UK’s National Farmers Union has issued a guarded response to the interim Elliott report into the horsemeat scandal that hit the British food industry early in 2013.

“It is right that action is being taken to ensure that meat labelled as British is British and has all the high standards associated with British farming,” said NFU deputy president Meurig Raymond. “Although we approve of plans to set up a new system of authenticity, we await with interest on details as to how that will be implemented. We would not want added costs passed on to our farmers, who have not been implicated in any way during this scandal.

Professor Elliott’s report outlined 48 measures for government and industry, including unannounced audits and a new specialist unit to deal specifically with food crime. It said there was “a worrying lack of knowledge” about the extent in which criminals were infiltrating the industry. “A food supply system which is much more difficult for criminals to operate in is urgently required. Government, and in particular a more robust Food Standards Agency (FSA) has a major role to play partnering these efforts.”

The FSA welcomed the report, saying, “The need for a more co-ordinated and proactive approach to food crime is the principal theme, and Professor Elliott is right to highlight that there is a role for central government, local authorities and the food industry to play in this area.

“The FSA is already working with Defra and local authorities to detect and deter food fraud. For example, we are carrying out a study to test that products which are labelled from the UK are in fact from the UK; we have introduced unannounced inspections of meat cutting plants; and we have increased to £2m the funding to local authorities to support their own testing programmes.”

The full report will be published in the spring.