‘Large amounts of meat of dubious origin and quality’ is still available to purchase, according to a report on the UK’s food system.
The interim report of the review headed by Professor Chris Elliott of Queen’s University Belfast recommended that a specialist food crime unit should be set up in the UK.
Professor Elliott, who is director of the Institute for Global Food Security, told BBC News: “The UK has some of the highest standards of food safety in the world.
“Food production is a global industry and we need to ensure that our high standards are maintained across the whole supply chain.”
He added that in the wake of the horsemeat scandal further measures should be put in place to protect consumers.
Environment secretary Owen Paterson said: “The UK food industry already has robust procedures to ensure they deliver high quality food to consumers and food businesses have a legal duty to uphold the integrity of food they sell…
“We will continue to work closely with the food industry, enforcement agencies and across local and central government to improve intelligence on food fraud and our response to it.”
To read the full report, visit the government website.
