FSA unveils whistleblower hotline to curb food fraud following meat scandal

12 Oct 2023 --- The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) is working with the Food Fraud Working Group to strengthen the food system against criminals who commit food fraud, including setting up a new whistleblower hotline where people can report suspected food fraud.

FSA chief executive Emily Miles says the agency is “strengthening the role that third-party assurance schemes play in passing on information to regulators.”

“Building on our experience of information sharing with schemes like Red Tractor, we’re now going to be working closely with a much broader range of assurance schemes that have agreed to share important data with us to help prevent food fraud.”

The Food Fraud Working Group acknowledged that robust and transparent whistleblowing facilities are an essential part of the protections against food fraud. 

All members of the working group have reportedly agreed to help “promote or otherwise support this hotline within the food industry in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.” 

The FSA will provide communications material in various languages to help them.

Ongoing efforts
In March, the FSA embarked on a criminal investigation when an undisclosed meat producer falsely sold products labeled as British when they were sourced from other countries.

The organization had advised retailers to check their cooked meat supply chain with extra caution and later announced that there was “no indication that food is unsafe or there is an increased risk to consumers.”

The FSA has refined its alert format to help businesses check their supply chains safely. Since that time, the FSA has continued its efforts to curb fraudulent activity by collaborating with the Association of Independent Meat Suppliers, the British Meat Processors Association, the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the Food Industry Intelligence Network and Red Tractor.

Refined alert format
Miles flags that despite expectations for safe food, there will always be risks from rogue actors within the food system.

In fact, recent research by the FSA shows that food crime in the UK costs up to £2 billion (US$ 2.46 billion) per year.

The working group has helped the FSA improve how it shares “intelligence-based alerts to better warn businesses about potential food fraud.”

The FSA notes that it has now refined the format of its alerts to help businesses check their supply chains without jeopardizing the integrity of any criminal investigations underway.

The agency’s Cost of Food Crime report highlighted that the price of food fraud is shared by consumers, businesses and regulators alike. Meanwhile, another report that investigated successful initiatives and strategies for fraud prevention, outlined how it can further bolster its lines of defense.

In recent months, the UK has been struggling with a high cost of living crisis, with some respite from an unexpected decline in inflation last month. 

By Insha Naureen