The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has set up a new hotline to allow individuals and businesses to report fraudulent activity in food sales and marketing in a much quicker and easier way than previously.
The FSA defines food fraud as being committed when “food is deliberately placed on the market, for financial gain, with the intention of deceiving the consumer”. This covers offering products for sale that unfit for human consumption or are past their sell-by-date. Misrepresentation of food is also covered such as giving false source information.
While the FSA says the problem is not widspread Which? the consumer watchdog estimates the fraudulent food market in the UK is worth £7 billion.
The hotline, +44 (0)20 7276 8527, is unstaffed. Any callers who wish to report a case of known or suspected food fraud are put through to an answerphone where they can leave details. The answerphone will be checked “regularly”, according to the FSA.
The agency promises that all calls are treated “in the strictest confidence” but it encourages callers to the number to leave their contact details in order to facilitate verification and further investigation of reports.
