FSA criticised over meat trade initiative
the illegal meat trade could be too small to be effective, claims a
leading UK daily newspaper.
The new task force set up by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to combat the illegal meat trade could be too small to be effective, claims a report from the UK national daily, The Guardian.
Currently the Illegal Meat Task Force consists of just 31 officers, each trained in criminal investigation procedures. The aim of the offices will be to study the parallel trade in meat deemed unfit for human consumption and help train regional health officers to combat it.
The FSA says that it hopes the creation of a network of trained specialists will help fight the growing problem the UK market has been facing with sub-standard meat imports.
But the task force's 'fighting fund' of just £200,000 (€280,000) a year will allow it to conduct only a few investigations into a trade that increasingly involves hardened criminals and illicit imports, the report claimed.
However, the initiative marks a greater co-operation on the problem between the FSA and the police, who are discussing signing a memorandum of understanding.
The crackdown could also help prevent the sale of meat waste to criminals escalating from next month when new EU regulations on meat disposal come into force in the UK.
