Jim Fitzpatrick – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Fitzpatrick on 2014-06-10.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Food Standards Agency on joined-up action at both national and local level to tackle food fraud.

Jane Ellison

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) continues to develop its capability in relation to food fraud, working closely with other Government Departments including the Department of Health, local authorities and industry to detect and deter food fraud.

The FSA is building an enhanced intelligence gathering network to increase the opportunity to capture and act on intelligence which may be indicative of future risks relating to food fraud, as well as producing strategic and tactical assessments to share with relevant enforcement agencies. Through this, the FSA has strengthened its links with other enforcement agencies, including the National Trading Standards Board, National Crime Agency, the Intellectual Property Office and the Gangmasters Licencing Agency. The FSA is a member of the Government Agencies Intelligence Network and is sharing and receiving intelligence through this network to support cross-government investigations.

At a European level, the FSA is fully engaged with the European Commission Food Fraud Team and its network which is now sharing intelligence to support cross-Europe investigations.

The FSA also provide support to local authorities in their food fraud related investigations through the provision of financial support, expert advice and training.