A “food crime confidential” reporting facility has been launched today by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), enabling anyone with a food crime suspicion to report their concerns by email or telephone, without any fear of being identified as a “whistle-blower”.
The new service is “particularly targeted” at those working in or around the UK food industry, said NFCU, which was created by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the wake of “horsegate”.
“We recognise that picking up the phone to pass on suspicions about an employer or an associate can be a big deal,” said FSA’s crime unit head, Andy Morling. “That’s why we’ll ensure the information provided will be handled sensitively and professionally.”
NFCU added that it would like to hear from anyone if they have food crime suspicions, especially in relation to the following issues:
- that food or drink contains things which it shouldn’t
- that methods used in ‘your’ workplace for producing, processing, storing, labelling or transporting foods do not seem quite right, and
- that an item of food or drink says it is of a certain quality or from a specific place or region, but doesn’t appear to be so.