An investigation by the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) has resulted in an arrest and the seizure of suspected illegal food products across England, Wales and Scotland.
The arrested man was later released under investigation and enquiries remain ongoing. Following the arrest, NFCU officers, working alongside local authority partners, disposed of 25 tonnes of suspected illegal frozen food products in June.
The suspected illegal food products were meat and chicken, as well as fish and vegetable frozen food products.
FSA stated that investigations into the wider trade of suspected illegal food products were continuing, with local authorities taking action and seizing more than eight tonnes in 111 visits to businesses. Since the operation began, 33 tonnes were seized in total.
The operation brought together multiple partners across law enforcement and local authorities including the Greater Manchester and Staffordshire Police, as well as Stoke-on-Trent City Council. The organisations maintained that there was no indication of a health risk to the public.
Wayne Parker, Senior Investigator at the FSA’s NFCU, commented: “Seizing over 33 tonnes of suspected illegal frozen food products and making an arrest sends a strong message to those who seek to profit from deceiving consumers: we will take action.
“This operation is a clear example of what we can achieve when agencies work together with a shared purpose. I want to thank all partners involved in this operation for their professionalism and commitment throughout.”
Andrew Quinn, NFCU head, stated: “Food fraud is not a victimless crime. It undermines legitimate businesses and erodes consumer trust. In this case, the concern is one of traceability and food safety: mislabelled frozen food products can pose health risks. The NFCU remains committed to protecting consumers and ensuring that criminal activity has no place in the UK food system.”
A Stoke-on-Trent City Council spokesperson said: “This is a great result. Removing more than 33 tonnes of suspected illegal frozen food from sale and making it clear that we won’t tolerate businesses who try to mislead customers. We alerted the FSA to investigations we carried out earlier this year, which found a premises was selling frozen food products with fraudulent labels and no traceability.
“Cases like these pose a safety issue to the public and we are continuing to take firm action to remove these products from the market and have been contacting premises who may have received affected products and ensure they are withdrawn and recalled.”
