At its formal Board meeting on 6 December 2017, the FSA reviewed the progress of the National Food Crime Unit over the last 12 months. The Board welcomed the reduction in deaths attributed to the highly toxic so-called ‘fat-burning’ substances DNP, and the Unit’s growing international leadership role.
The Board agreed that intelligence shared by industry was essential to deliver the potential of the Unit and agreed to a set of protocols on the handling and use of such information from the Food Industry Intelligence Network (FINN). The Board reiterated their ambition to develop the investigative capability of the Unit.
In response to the FSA’s Regulating our Future (ROF) programme, the Board confirmed their support for strengthening the contribution of regulated private assurance schemes in providing assurance of compliance, including the opportunity to improve their scope and to find more ways to test management and culture in relation to food safety, hygiene and standards.
The Board also considered the progress that had been made in evidence generation, bridging the animal production and public health sectors and international engagement in antimicrobial resistance (AMR). They welcomed the ongoing national and international engagement work to collaboratively address the issue of AMR and endorsed the future planned activity.