Environment secretary, Therese Coffey has threatened to bring the Food Standards Agency under her control after it was accused of “failing to protect the public” over the rotten meat scandal.
Earlier this week, a two year investigation was brought to light which involved a midland-based supplier, which cannot be named for legal reasons, who alledgedly supplied UK supermarkets with ready meals, sandwiches and quiches that contained rotten meat.
As the suppliers products had been sold in Tesco, Asda, Co-op, Morrisons and M&S, with the firm’s factory also supplying Oscar Mayer who manufactures food for Sainsbury’s and Aldi, the supermarkers were carrying out urgent checks this week to “double check” products containing processed meat by the company, were no longer available in stores.
According to reporting by The Telegraph, the retailers have admitted they cannot be sure that none of the suspect meat remains on sale.
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Last week, three people were arrested at the factory over an alleged mislabelling of foreign-sourced meat as British.
However, according to Farmers Weekly which ran the investigation, the FSA was aware of this mislabelling claim since 2020 and only made retailers and suppliers aware in January 2022.
Now, Coffey has said she will consider bringing the FSA under the control of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rather than the Department of Health and Social Care, which it currently answers to, after MP Sir Robert Goodwill suggested the change and said he was “appalled” by the issue.
Coffey said: “The machinery of government change he proposes is one of interest, and I will consider that in line with the prime minister.”
The Association of Independent Meat Suppliers (AIMS) head of policy, Norman Bagley told The Telegraph: “It is clear to us that when the FSA board was made aware of the NFCU’s investigation two years ago in December 2021 and again 12 months later, neither the board nor any member of the executive staff simply asked the basic question of what level of risk to consumers this business posed.”
AIMS also added that the FSA has “serious questions to answer” about its failure to “to protect the public and honest companies from the risks to human health and fraud.”
Food Standards Agency chief executive, Emily Miles said: “Based on the investigation to date, there is no indication that food is unsafe or there is an increased risk to consumers.”
