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National Food Crime Unit launches ‘Food Crime Confidential’

The National Food Crime Unit has launched ‘Food Crime Confidential’ - a reporting facility where food crime can be reported safely and in confidence, over the phone and through email.

The National Food Crime Unit has launched Food Crime Confidential. This is a reporting facility where anyone with suspicions about food crime can report them safely and in confidence, over the phone or through email. The facility is particularly targeted at those working in or around the UK food industry.

The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) works with partners to protect people from serious criminal activity that impacts the safety or authenticity of food and drink they consume.

Food crime involves dishonesty at any stage in the production or supply of food. It is often complex and likely to be seriously detrimental to consumers, businesses or the general public interest.

Get in touch if you have information

NFCU would like to receive any information relating to suspected dishonesty involving food, drink or animal feed. In addition to identifying and being able to tackle specific instances of food crime, such information will help us learn more about the circumstances that make offending possible.

Food Crime is defined as 'Financially motivated dishonesty relating to food production or supply, which is either complex or results in serious detriment to consumers, businesses or the overall public'.

The National Food Crime Unit would like to hear from anyone if they have suspicions about:

  • food or drink that has potentially been adulterated or substituted

  • methods used in workplaces for producing, processing, storing, labelling or transporting food that appears illegal or substandard

  • companies or businesses that are selling items of food or drink that purport to be of a certain quality, suggest health benefits or claim to be from a specific place or region, but do not appear genuine or are suspected to be fake. 

Call 0207 276 8787 or email foodcrime@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk

Putting consumers first

Head of Food Crime at the FSA, Andy Morling said: 'The National Food Crime Unit is committed to putting consumers first in everything we do. That is why we are launching Food Crime Confidential today to ensure that those with information about food crime can report it in confidence. The facility is open to anyone who has information about food which is being dishonestly produced, manufactured or sold.

'We particularly want to hear from those who work in or around the UK food industry. We recognise that picking up the phone to pass on suspicions about an employer or an associate can be a big deal. That’s why we’ll ensure the information provided will be handled sensitively and professionally.'

More in this section

The National Food Crime Unit

The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) works with partners to protect consumers from serious criminal activity that impacts on the safety or authenticity of the food and drink they consume.

Sharing information with the NFCU: Assurances

The NFCU is committed to ensuring that food businesses, whistle blowers and everyone else feel confident in reporting suspicions of food criminality to us in confidence. This is how we do it.

Channel website: https://www.food.gov.uk/

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