Horsemeat scandal 'warning'

A new report released today by the Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee on the horsemeat contamination scandal warns that budget cuts could affect food sampling.

The MPs recommend that local authorities should adopt targeted sampling—testing from time to time products which might be contaminated without requiring intelligence to support it.

The report states:

“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.”

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, such as 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.”

The Common Committee said that in the wake of confusion about where responsibility lay for responding to the horse meat discovery, the Food Standards Agency should be “one step removed from the Government departments it reports to”.

Those responsible for the horsemeat scandal must be identified and prosecuted in order to restore consumer confidence in the UK’s frozen meat sector, according to MPs.

Chair of the Committee Anne McIntosh MPsaid:

“The evidence suggests a complex network of companies trading in and mislabelling beef or beef products which is fraudulent and illegal.

“We are dismayed at the slow pace of investigations and seek assurances that prosecutions will be mounted where there is evidence of fraud or illegality.”