Post-Brexit checks 'set tone for EU' as warnings of second horsemeat scandal emerge
EXCLUSIVE: The chair of the horsemeat inquiry has warned it could happen in the UK again, while an expert has said Brexit will protect Britain from future food chain scandals.
Blaming Brexit for Dover chaos is 'lame excuse', Tory MP says
In 2013, the UK was shocked and repulsed to discover horsemeat was found in products sold at Tesco, Burger King, the Co-Op and Aldi with one burger at Tesco found to have contained as much as 29 percent horsemeat.
In total, 50,000 tonnes of meat products across Europe were recalled with the so-called 'Horsegate' becoming one of Europe’s biggest scandals of all time. In response, Professor Chris Elliott conducted a review, examining what went wrong and established systems that ensured our national food system was “harder for fraudsters to penetrate”.
In response, the National Food Crime Unit in the Food Standards Agency was launched as well as the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit. But now, Professor Elliot has warned that Brexit means our imports are now not inspected, and there is now “no sharing of intelligence on fraud”.
He said: “Heaven knows what might happen now."
“While once food destined for the UK was subject to the same level of inspection and scrutiny as elsewhere in Europe, our imports now receive the same attention as a consignment of unsafe meat heading for remote corners of the world, ie, none at all.”
Beyod Brexit, Grant Cochrane, CEO of forensic and data science company Oritain which verifies the origin of products and raw materials, told Express.co.uk that suppliers and supermarkets have not yet learned their lesson from the horsemeat scandal.
There is evidence to support this: in early March 2023, the National Food Crime Unit was investigating an alleged fraud involving sliced beef labelled as British but from South America and Europe. The supermarket Booths, known as the Waitrose of the North, immediately stopped trading with the supplier.
Also this year, in February, illegally imported meat and eggs were discovered by the Suffolk Trading Standards, and in October 2022, illegal imports were found in 21 out of 22 vans inspected within a day at Dover. Within one was maggot-infested meat dripping blood onto other food.
But although Brexit meant that the UK left the EU’s Agri-Food Fraud Network, which exchanges information and intelligence across member states, Mr Cochrane believes UK’s exit from the EU gives the nation the opportunity to “set the tone” for protecting the public from food fraud.
He said: “[Brexit] is a unique opportunity that must be seized, not shunned. Lax enforcement, murky supply chains, and indifference led us down the same path as in 2013. There are solutions that are proven, cost-effective, and scientifically robust…
"There is nothing to stop the UK from being a world leader in protecting its borders and its people from food fraud.”
Retailers, suppliers, and investors should examine how to protect consumers and themselves through reliable, non-intrusive solutions that guarantee the origin of the food they sell, he added.
Don't miss...
Poll shows most want Sunak to call general election before autumn 2024 [POLL]
'Genuine fear' brewing over post-invasion civil war in Ukraine [ANALYSIS]
86-year-old beer made for Edward VIII's Coronation goes on sale [INSIGHT]
Similarly, Karen Green, grocery expert and author of Buyer-ology, explained that another horse meat scandal is less likely as businesses use DNA testing to check the species of meat, but said that there are other potential food fraud challenges.
She told Express.co.uk: “For example, tuna is often labelled pole and line which is the preferred method of fishing, but it is impossible to tell without previous supply data whether it has been line caught or fished using drag nets which are not dolphin friendly. Ditto with ‘free range’ and other claims.”
The Government’s new post-Brexit checks are due to be introduced later this year they aim to deliver food that is safe to eat whilst maintaining the security of supply for consumers and help disrupt criminal activity.
Mr Cochrane added: “The UK produces some of the best meat and fish in the world, and the Government’s proposal to prevent food fraud sends a strong signal about the seriousness of this issue.”