Confusion in response to horse-meat scandal – audit

Confusion betwixt authorities departments hampered the British reply to this year’s horse-meat contamination scandal, an audit probe has found.

The British Government has been criticised past times the National Audit Office over its treatment of the scandal, describing confusion betwixt authorities departments.

“The Jan 2013 horse-meat incident has revealed a gap betwixt what citizens hold back of the controls over the authenticity of their food, in addition to the effectiveness of those controls inwards reality,” the caput of the office, Amyas Morse, said on Thursday, when releasing a study on its research into nutrient security in addition to authenticity inwards the processed essence provide chain.

“The partitioning of responsibilities for nutrient security in addition to authenticity has created confusion,” Morse said.

“The Government needs to take away this confusion, in addition to amend its understanding of potential nutrient fraud in addition to how tidings is brought together in addition to shared.”

The study constitute that, piece arrangements for identifying in addition to testing for risks to nutrient security were relatively mature in addition to effective, like arrangements for the authenticity of nutrient were not.

The Government failed to position the possibility of adulteration of beef products with horse-meat, despite indications of heightened risk, the study concluded.

A separate inwards responsibilities for nutrient policy betwixt the Food Standards Agency in addition to 2 Whitehall departments inwards 2010 led to confusion with stakeholders near the role of the way in addition to the agriculture department, Defra, inwards responding to nutrient authenticity incidents, the study found.

An way review constitute that around of their staff in addition to local authorities were confused, during the early on stages of the reply to the Jan 2013 incident, near why the way was taking the atomic number 82 inwards investigations.

Local authorities said they continued to endure unclear on whom to contact inwards for sure areas of nutrient policy, the study noted.

Local authorities reported 1380 cases of nutrient fraud inwards 2012 – upward past times two-thirds since 2010.

The Government recognised that it needed to address weaknesses inwards its intelligence-gathering in addition to sharing in addition to its understanding of opportunities for fraud throughout the modern nutrient chain, the study said.

The audit role recommended that around resources should endure shifted from the inspection of slaughter houses to the checking of the industry of processed essence products in addition to the long provide chains involved. This, it noted, would require European agreement.

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