The Food Standards Agency (FSA), working with industry partners, has published a stakeholder message which sets out proposals from the Food Fraud Working Group.

The message outlines proposals to strengthen the collective response to food crime, such as:

• Launching a new freephone number for the food fraud hotline to make it easier for people to speak up and share their concerns
• Working with industry on ways to encourage food fraud whistleblowing
• Strengthening information sharing arrangements between the third-party auditors used by food businesses, and the FSA, to help prevent criminal activity
• Improving how the FSA issues intelligence-based alerts to better warn food businesses about potential food fraud in supply chains.

The Cost of Food Crime

The FSA has also published two research reports: one estimated food crime costs the UK economy up to £2 billion a year, and another that made recommendations on food crime prevention.

The Cost of Food Crime research found the cost of food fraud to consumers, businesses and Government is between £410 million and £1.96 billion per year.

Emily Miles, CEO of the FSA, said: “The UK has some of the safest and most authentic food in the world, but there will always be a threat of criminality in the food system.

“Food businesses are the first and most important line of defence and we want to support them. This is one of the reasons why we launched a working group to explore together whether some areas of our collective response to food crime can be improved.

“Together, we’re making it easier to share intelligence and information by helping people who work in the food system to share their concerns with us freely and confidentially.

“Our research suggests that for businesses and consumers feeling the financial strain, the cost of food crime still matters.”

Helen Sisson, director and co-chair of the Food Industry Intelligence Network, said: “We are pleased to be taking action with the FSA and our partners in the food industry to strengthen the way we can prevent food crime in our supply chains.

“Cooperation and communication between every part of the food system is vital to protect the public and the global reputation of UK food.”