News & Reports food standards
Horsemeat in ‘beef’ products: European Commission summarises progress THE European Commission has published a summary of the issues identified after the horsemeat in ‘beef’ products scandal erupted in January last year and the actions that have been taken to address them. In the summary, the Commission notes that the finding that horsemeat was being passed off as beef exposed the complex nature of a globalised food supply chain. ‘The evidence gathered did not point to a food safety or public health issue, but rather to an issue of fraudulent labelling,’ it says; ‘It demonstrated that fraudsters were taking advantage of weaknesses in the system to the detriment of both legitimate businesses and consumers.’ The findings led to a crisis of consumer confidence, with trust in the food processing industry falling to ‘an all-time low’. In March 2013, Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health, set out an action plan identifying five main issues that needed to be addressed. The latest report from the Commission gives an update on progress that has been made over the past year. One of the issues identified was that of horse passports. On this, the Commission reports that member states have complied with a requirement to report on the measures through which they enforce EU
264 | Veterinary Record | March 15, 2014
rules on horse passports. Also achieved has been an action to present proposals for amending European legislation to make it mandatory for member states to record horse passports in a central national database. A plan to reduce the number of passport issuing bodies by transferring the issuing of horse passports entirely to the competent authorities in member states is currently being considered in the Commission’s proposals for a new European Animal Health Law. The Commission notes that several lessons have been drawn from the horsemeat fraud. ‘The most important is probably that large-scale, cross-border fraudulent schemes that take advantage of the weaknesses of an increasingly globalised food supply can impact hugely on consumers and operators, and thus on the economy,’ it says. Constant vigilance from operators and competent authorities in member states is needed to guard against economically motivated fraud. The horsemeat crisis confirmed the need to improve cross-border cooperation between national enforcement authorities to tackle fraudulent activities effectively, the Commission says. It also identified a need to mobilise anti-food fraud activities by food inspection services and other
law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities. Also highlighted by the crisis was the need to strengthen the capability of the control system as a whole to assess the potential vulnerability to fraud of the different parts of the food supply chain at an early stage, as well as the capability of national enforcement agencies to detect and prevent potential frauds. The Commission’s update notes that the availability of sound methods for the detection of adulterations and the capability to anticipate, as far as possible, the opportunities for fraud along the chain are crucial. The document highlights other actions taken to address issues raised by the horsemeat scandal and also actions ‘to strengthen the European systems for detecting and dealing with rule violations that are motivated by the prospect of financial gains’. These include the formation of an EU Food Fraud Network, which is discussing ways to strengthen coordination of an EU-wide approach to fraud issues to handle cross-border cases more efficiently. n The progress report can be downloaded from http://europa.eu/rapid/ press-release_MEMO-14-113_en.htm doi: 10.1136/vr.g2080
Horsemeat in ‘beef’ products: European Commission summarises progress THE European Commission has published a summary of the issues identified after the horsemeat in ‘beef’ products scandal erupted in January last year and the actions that have been taken to address them. In the summary, the Commission notes that the finding that horsemeat was being passed off as beef exposed the complex nature of a globalised food supply chain. ‘The evidence gathered did not point to a food safety or public health issue, but rather to an issue of fraudulent labelling,’ it says; ‘It demonstrated that fraudsters were taking advantage of weaknesses in the system to the detriment of both legitimate businesses and consumers.’ The findings led to a crisis of consumer confidence, with trust in the food processing industry falling to ‘an all-time low’. In March 2013, Tonio Borg, the European Commissioner for Health, set out an action plan identifying five main issues that needed to be addressed. The latest report from the Commission gives an update on progress that has been made over the past year. One of the issues identified was that of horse passports. On this, the Commission reports that member states have complied with a requirement to report on the measures through which they enforce EU
264 | Veterinary Record | March 15, 2014
rules on horse passports. Also achieved has been an action to present proposals for amending European legislation to make it mandatory for member states to record horse passports in a central national database. A plan to reduce the number of passport issuing bodies by transferring the issuing of horse passports entirely to the competent authorities in member states is currently being considered in the Commission’s proposals for a new European Animal Health Law. The Commission notes that several lessons have been drawn from the horsemeat fraud. ‘The most important is probably that large-scale, cross-border fraudulent schemes that take advantage of the weaknesses of an increasingly globalised food supply can impact hugely on consumers and operators, and thus on the economy,’ it says. Constant vigilance from operators and competent authorities in member states is needed to guard against economically motivated fraud. The horsemeat crisis confirmed the need to improve cross-border cooperation between national enforcement authorities to tackle fraudulent activities effectively, the Commission says. It also identified a need to mobilise anti-food fraud activities by food inspection services and other
law enforcement agencies and judicial authorities. Also highlighted by the crisis was the need to strengthen the capability of the control system as a whole to assess the potential vulnerability to fraud of the different parts of the food supply chain at an early stage, as well as the capability of national enforcement agencies to detect and prevent potential frauds. The Commission’s update notes that the availability of sound methods for the detection of adulterations and the capability to anticipate, as far as possible, the opportunities for fraud along the chain are crucial. The document highlights other actions taken to address issues raised by the horsemeat scandal and also actions ‘to strengthen the European systems for detecting and dealing with rule violations that are motivated by the prospect of financial gains’. These include the formation of an EU Food Fraud Network, which is discussing ways to strengthen coordination of an EU-wide approach to fraud issues to handle cross-border cases more efficiently. n The progress report can be downloaded from http://europa.eu/rapid/ press-release_MEMO-14-113_en.htm doi: 10.1136/vr.g2080
