The Food Fraud Resilience Self-Assessment Tool is a new on-line tool launched by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) which guides food business owners and employees through a series of questions designed to help them identify the risk to their business from food crime. It also outlines steps that they can take to mitigate the effects of food crime. Businesses can complete the assessment tool anonymously or choose to share their details with the FSA to receive tailored advice and support.
The tool has been developed by the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU), a dedicated law enforcement function of the FSA. The NFCU works with the food industry to identify threats and collaborates with partners to tackle them.
Food crime is defined by the FSA as serious fraud and related criminality in food supply chains. The definition also includes activity impacting on drink and animal feed. On its launch, Darren Davies head of the NFCU, said: "The pandemic has been incredibly challenging for the food industry, but we know the damage that food crime can do both to a business's reputation and to consumer health. While the UK has some of the safest and most authentic food in the world, it's as important as ever for businesses to remain vigilant to the threat posed by criminals. Vulnerability can exist at any place along the route from farm through to fork so I would encourage businesses of all size across the industry to make use of this free tool.".
WM Comment
You can access the Food Fraud Resilience Self-Assessment Tool here.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
