Food Safety conference
Crime boss appeals for food industry partnership
“Where there’s money, there’s crime. And where there’s big money, there’s big crime,” Morling told told delegates at the conference last week (September 29).
To help beat that crime and prevent the growth of organised crime in food and drink Morling urged greater partnership between enforcement agencies and the industry. “Professor Elliott’s report [into the horsemeat scandal] captured the importance of tackling food crime before it becomes an issue for criminal,” said Morling.
‘New relationship with industry’
“For me, it’s about building a new relationship with industry. Crime is something we have a collective responsibility to deal with. This is not just about industry – it’s about a government response at the same time. ”
One of Morling’s key tasks was to build that trust with the food and drink sector. “It’s about building personal faith in me as an individual – and I’m happy for that to be the case.”
In a bid to reassure manufacturers that information they provided will be handled in strict confidence, Morling pledged: “We will handle the information that the industry provides in a way that’s professional and respects their confidence in that organisation.”
‘Respects their confidence’
Read more about Morling’s view on the threat of organised crime attacking food and drink manufacturing here.
Morling began his new role at the Food Standards Agency’s Food Crime Unit in March.
This video was produced by Laurence Gibbons. Watch out more multi-media content from the conference later this week.
The oneday conference – Safer food and drink: from the harvest to the home – chaired by Professor Colin Dennis, president of the US Institute of Food Technologists, took place at the Lowry, Manchester. The event was sponsored by Alcontrol, Checkit, the Institute of Food Research, Klipspringer.com, Mettler Toledo and Sartorius.
