CIEH statement on the report on the horsemeat contamination scandal
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) welcomed the release of today's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on the horsemeat contamination scandal which occurred earlier on this year.
The report identifies a number of areas for further action and the CIEH believes that a key element must be the need to ensure that enforcement systems remain resilient and robust. Part of a robust system must be a good sampling regime. On this point the CIEH agrees that:
“The Government should be mindful of the impact of local authority budget cuts and seek to ensure that they do not have a negative impact on food sampling.”
Commenting on the report, Jenny Morris, CIEH Principal Policy Officer, said:
“The horsemeat scandal was a major reminder of the need to ensure the safety and integrity of the food supply network. Threats may come from a range of sources e.g. criminal activity, mislabelling or failures in hygiene. To mitigate these threats we need adequately resourced environmental health and trading standards teams. Continuing cuts to local authorities will only weaken our ability to monitor the food chain and protect public health.”
