Organised food crime: time to face the threat

While organised crime is not yet a problem for UK food and drink manufacturers, it will become so, unless action is taken now, Andy Morling told delegates at the Food Manufacture Group’s Food safety conference yesterday (September 29).

Six months into his role as the nation’s top food and drink crime enforcer, Morling disagreed with Professor Chris Elliott, author of two reports into the origins of the 2013 horsemeat crisis, about the significance of organised crime in the UK.

‘I’m not convinced yet’

“I’m not convinced yet,” Morling told conference delegates. “I’ve seen little evidence in my first six months within the job that organised crime has made significant inroads into food.”

The fact that the food industry had managed to keep organised food criminals at bay was a tribute to the professionalism in the food industry, he added.

But he warned that time was running out to combat the growing threat from large-scale criminal activity. “I’m sure that while organised crime is not a feature at the moment, if we don’t give a response to match the threat, it could be something we are facing in a few years’ time.

“If food crime goes unpunished … then it leaves the door open to organised criminal elements that we see in other parts of the world that do make inroads into this [the food and drink industry].”

‘Not a crime of choice’

As examples, Morling cited the Mafia’s infiltration of the Italian food industry and the establishment of a new Food Crime Unit in India. “The Italians do have problems with organised crime. We don’t yet have that problem as far as I’m concerned. The barriers to entry to organised crime are still too high – it’s not a crime of choice.”

Labour shadow secretary for environment Kerry McCarthy highlighted the threat of food crime during her party conference speech given in Brighton yesterday.

Meanwhile, watch out for more conference coverage on the latest food and drink manufacturing safety news – including video interviews with Morling and other speakers – later on FoodManufacture.co.uk and our sister publication Food Manufacture magazine.

Later this week watch our video interview with Morling in which he makes a passionate plea for greater trust and cooperation between enforcement officers and the food industry to beat food crime in all its forms.

The one-day conference – Safer food and drink: from the harvest to the home – chaired by Professor Colin Dennis, took place at the Lowry, Manchester. The event was sponsored by Alcontrol, Checkit, the Institute of Food Research, Klipspringer.com, Mettler Toledo and Sartorius.