Straight from the horse’s mouth: one bound back and three steps forward
This year marks ten years since the horsemeat scandal of 2013. The scandal began with a TV news story regarding suspicious ingredients in Tesco beef burgers and quickly spiraled out of control, affecting the food sector, authorities, and the general public in sixteen different European nations.
What went wrong and why has been thoroughly documented in my independent investigation of the integrity of the UK food supply system, which became known as the ‘Elliott Review’. Instead of continuing the blame game (apart from pointing the finger at the offenders), my goal was to create a systems-based strategy that would make it far more difficult for scammers to get inside our country’s food chain.
What took place next?
Despite the fact that the government fully adopted my recommendations, I was informed that “good reports” frequently became dusty and that I shouldn’t expect much action because the crisis had already passed and new issues would now take precedence as people’s memory of Horsegate faded.
Fortunately, the opposite was true. There was a definite hunger to enact the three primary recommendations I had made. First, a number of the major food companies came together to form the Food Industry Intelligence Network (FIIN), a non-profit organization that shared information on food authenticity testing. With more than 50 member companies cooperating to safeguard one another and their clients from fraud, the organization is still strong today.
The most contentious of all my recommendations was the establishment of the National Food Crime Unit and the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit. Their focus has shifted from merely obtaining intelligence to looking into significant food fraud cases around the United Kingdom. However, the lack of authority to seek for search warrants, seize evidence, and interview individuals who are under arrest—all of which I suggested—has left the agencies frustrated. In 2022, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) began a consultation on this issue; ideally, the UK Government would approve this this year, or as soon as possible. These steps will give organizations fighting organized crime more fangs.
The Food Authenticity Network (FAN) was established, which was the third excellent result of my research. This has made it possible to share a tonne of knowledge and provide training for those who check and audit the authenticity of food using a special web platform. With thousands of members now, it serves as a resource for a large number of people worldwide.
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As simple as A, B, and C?
I have consistently responded in the affirmative when asked if things have improved, gotten worse, or remained the same since Horsegate. The government’s and industry’s response to protect the country from organized crime and fraudsters in the food industry has been very helpful and makes life much harder for offenders. Like everyone else, I was aware that difficulties would inevitably arise and that despite significant barriers having been placed in place, “the bad guys wouldn’t stop trying.” However, during the last few years, my perspective has not improved. My ABC of the main concerns that have led to this shift in thinking is as follows:
A stands for austerity and the crisis of rising costs of living that so many people in our society are facing. People who are on the lookout for deals are susceptible to fraud, and some people would be more than eager to take advantage of this precarious situation.
B stands for Brexit, more especially for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU’s Food Fraud Network, a high-level mechanism that allows member states to share intelligence and information about food fraud. Paradoxically, the UK lost its first line of defense against food theft at the borders. A significant portion of the food we eat comes into Europe through ports like Rotterdam. Used to be, food coming into the UK was inspected and scrutinized just like food coming into other parts of Europe, but these days, our imports get about as much attention as a shipment of tainted meat going to far-off places in the world—that is, none at all.
C represents complacency. We all know that C comes after B, and in my opinion, complacency has alarmingly followed Brexit. It is the UK Government that is largely to blame for the complacency. I was shocked and appalled when Jacob Rees-Mogg declared in April of last year that all inspections on food imported from the EU would be removed because of the associated expenses. He was, in fact, leaving our national borders wide open to those scammers that he and his Brexit comrades have told us we were taking back control of — this must surely be one of the great Brexit ironies. Other than con artists massaging their boots and rubbing their hands together, what did they suppose would happen?