The biggest threats to UK food safety

It’s been four years since the crime units within the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS) published their last food crime assessment. While today’s threat landscape has been found to be similar to those present in 2020, new themes linked to recent events, including UK economic conditions and geopolitical events, have emerged.

As the same time as we see the publication of the 2024 Food Crime Strategic Assessment, we also see the return of Food Manufacture’s annual Food Safety Briefing - online, 23 October 2024, click to register for free here.

The theme for this year’s session is ‘threats of the future’, with four industry figureheads delivering a series of exclusive presentations. A live Q&A will follow, with audience members able to pose their burning questions.

Many of the areas highlighted in the FSA and FSS report will be explored within the briefing, as the experts delve into the trends and drivers behind these concerns, as well as presenting possible solutions to tackle fraud alongside other common food safety issues. 

The big four issues

The 2024 Food Crime Assessment showed that all seven kinds of food crime have persisted, with evidence of each. However, there were four standout themes within the seven kinds of crime:

1. Misrepresentation of red meat and poultry with regards to status, origin or durability date
2. Waste diversion, including links to animal by-products handling within red meat and poultry supply chains
3. Unlawful processing or importation of lamb and pork
4. Authenticity challenges in the supply chains of commodities positing notable or persistent fraud risks to the UK arising from upstream, overseas adulteration and misrepresentation.

A separate report from the FSA also found issues with frozen meat. The latest Retail Surveillance Sampling programme discovered that 40% of the frozen raw chicken it tested was non-compliant. This was due to undeclared, or excess, added water and labelling issues. This increased to 42% for frozen beef burgers – with 10 of 24 of its samples non-compliant. Eight of the samples had less meat content than declared, and four contained higher fat levels than stated.

What is triggering threats?

Rising costs have been pinpointed as key driver for new threats. Despite some of the industry reporting that cost pressures are abating, total costs rose by 12.8% in 2023.

Geopolitical tensions between Ukraine and Russia and more recently, the targeted Yemeni Houthi rebel attacks on Red Sea cargo ships carrying commodities will have exacerbated cost hikes at the same time as impacting trade flow.

Trickled down costs onto consumers from all directions have left folk concerned, with many (49% according to an FSA June 2024 survey) opting for cheaper goods rather than branded products to save money.

At the same time, the report highlights concerns over local authority dwindling numbers, with reports showing big drops in food safety post funding across the devolved nations.

New regulations, including the recent inclusion of the slimming drug DNP into the Poisons Act 1972 and (albeit delayed) EUDR rules will also likely pose challenges, alongside the continuing pressure of new border arrangements.

While food authenticity technologies hold huge promise in helping the industry, the report also notes that budgetary challenges may mean they cannot be widely deployed. 

Get prepared – watch the Food Safety Briefing

The reality is that the next 12-14 months will present not only new or amplified challenges, but will also add further pressure onto detection and mitigation efforts.

And whilst the F&B industry has proven itself to be a force to be reckoned with, it is only through collaboration and knowledge sharing that we’ll be able to take on these new and evolving threats.

Food Manufacture’s annual Food Safety Briefing will offer attendees a glimpse into the future, as we hear from four experts on the top challenges and the tools we have at our disposal to take them on.

Selvarani Elahi, UK deputy government chemist and executive director of the Food Authenticity Network will kick off the free online session.

“Join me at Food Manufacture’s Food Safety Briefing, where I’ll compare global institutions' views with AI’s insights on today’s top food safety risks,” she said. “We'll explore key strategies to feed 9bn people safely and sustainably by 2050. Don’t miss this chance to discuss major threats facing the food and drink industry!”

Following on from this, Callum Whyborne, lead application engineer for Unibloc Hygienic Technologies, will lead an insightful exploration into the transformative role of predictive maintenance in pumping systems – which if not properly managed, can not only be a costly burden but a hazardous one too.

Terry McGrath, chief scientific officer for Bia Analytical, who has been developing methods for food safety and security for 25 years, will also be presenting an exclusive session. This part of the briefing will look at the technology we can use shield against and identify fraud.

Finally, to round off the presentations, Alison Johnson, managing director of Food Forensics, will explore the future of food safety and integrity.

Her session will examine the risks that are genuinely emerging and those that are evolving old challenges. This will include a whistle-stop tour of critical areas, including contaminants, adulteration and climate change.

Following on from the presentations, a live Q&A session will be held, where delegates can pose their questions. Questions can be submitted ahead of time whilst you register or during the session.