Supply Chain Scandals and Food Frauds

A decade ago, the UK was rocked by a food scandal that involved horsemeat being found in beef products. Since then, there have been improvements in combating food fraud, but there is still a long way to go. A recent investigation into British beef fraud shows that problems in the food supply chain still need to be addressed.

The 2013 horsemeat scandal brought to light the importance of transparency and accountability in the UK's food supply chain. However, Professor Chris Elliott , who headed the inquiry into the scandal, has raised concerns over the UK's increasing isolation from intelligence over food supply chains in Europe. Brexit has resulted in the UK losing membership and intelligence briefings of the EU Agri-Food Fraud Network, which coordinates cross-border food fraud activities. The UK also no longer has full access to the EU's rapid alert system for food and feed, which provides information on food safety issues. This lack of intelligence sharing puts the UK at risk of new food scandals. Elliott has warned that the UK has no sharing of intelligence on fraud that is happening or suspected to be happening in mainland Europe, and the country lacks the same level of infrastructure or facilities to ensure robust checks for food imported from third countries or the EU.

Although the UK has made progress in combating food fraud since the horsemeat scandal, there is still a long way to go. The UK government has powers to check and seize non-compliant products, and it monitors emerging outbreaks across the globe. It also works closely with the National Food Crime Unit to tackle food fraud while promoting the sale of high-quality British produce. However, Elliott is concerned about the cut in budgets in England for officials investigating food fraud and safety. He believes that the impact of Brexit has taken the UK back in terms of combating food fraud. Local authorities have massively cut back on food surveillance, and private audits are not always fit for purpose. Therefore, the UK needs to regain control over the food it consumes, invest in food surveillance, and operate with greater transparency and accountability in the food industry to reduce the risk of new scandals.

Additionally, a former meat supplier to Booths , a northern English retailer, is being investigated for British beef fraud. According to the National Food Crime Unit, pre-packed sliced meat and deli products labelled as “best British beef” were found to have been sourced from other countries. While the issue is not being classed as a food safety concern in this case, food fraud can be dangerous to people’s health. The investigation is reviewing around 1.3 million documents concerning the sale of “large volumes” of meat.?

The NFCU is looking at how packs of pre-sliced meat and deli items were labelled as “best British beef” despite being sourced from Europe and even as far afield as South America. The investigation comes at a time when supermarkets have faced scrutiny over their supply chains, raising concerns over whether retailers are prioritising product availability over prices, and highlighting the UK's inflation crisis and bad weather.

While progress has been made since the horsemeat scandal, the recent investigation into British beef fraud shows that issues in the food supply chain still need to be addressed. The UK needs to regain control over the food it consumes and share intelligence on food fraud with Europe to reduce the risk of new scandals. The government needs to invest in food surveillance, and the food industry needs to operate with greater transparency and accountability. Only then can we ensure that the food we eat is safe and of high quality.