Awareness of the Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) dedicated food crime unit among small businesses is still at low levels, according to recently released information from a survey.

Knowledge of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) was minimal with less than one in five being aware of it, which is down slightly from 20 percent in 2021.

However, the proportion of companies who had been a victim of food crime in the past 12 months remained low at 8 percent, compared to 7 percent in 2021.

A total of 556 interviews were conducted between October and November 2023. All interviews were with small and micro firms (ranging from less than 10 to 49 employees) in England, Northern Ireland, and Wales. A similar survey was last undertaken in 2021.

Of firms that were aware of the NFCU, less than half knew of the NFCU’s online assessment tool to help their business prevent food crime.

Nearly one in 10 businesses had been victims of food crime in the past year. Being supplied or offered a food product believed to have been stolen was the top issue experienced. Other crimes included being supplied with a deliberately mislabeled product, one that was illegally produced or prepared or with a food product that was destined for waste disposal.

Food safety and hygiene
Participants expressed confidence in food safety and hygiene standards and regulations with at least eight in 10 agreeing that: regulations are effective at protecting the public from food related risks; are reasonable for businesses to meet; are enforced in a fair and constructive manner; add value to their business; and are easy and practical to comply with.

More than four in five were confident that UK businesses ensure: food is safe to eat; unsafe food is withdrawn/recalled correctly; information on food labels is accurate; food hygiene ratings are displayed; and records are kept of where food is from and this information can be shown on demand. 

More than half of businesses had written procedures on how to deal with a recall or withdrawal. About half of these respondents never conduct mock recall exercises.

Businesses were more concerned about food from outside the UK being safe and hygienic or being what it says it is compared to food from inside the UK.

From a list of potential concerns, companies reported that the main barriers to success were: changes in consumer behavior and demand because of the cost of living; high inflation or increased interest rates; and energy costs. A quarter were worried about meeting food standards or safety requirements.

These concerns are different from 2021 where the most common threat was the availability of food supplies or disruption in the supply chain and changes in consumer behavior and demand due to COVID-19.

Only 6 percent of companies had ever subscribed to the FSA news and alerts service. Six in 10 said they only knew a little about the FSA or had only heard of the agency.

Most businesses were confident that the FSA works hard to ensure that food safety and standards are maintained and improved. Nine in 10 were confident that the agency is good at identifying where poor standards exist and takes appropriate action.

In 2023, 14 percent of businesses used third-party platforms to sell food, in line with 15 percent in 2021. The most common platforms used were Just Eat, Deliveroo, and Uber Eats.

Nine in 10 firms that sold food directly to consumers provided information on allergens contained in the food that they sell. The majority, 72 percent, of those who didn’t provide this information, sold pre-packaged food and so wouldn’t have provided this information directly.

The most common way to provide allergen information was verbally on request and in writing as a separate notice on display.

Almost all respondents provided some form of training to staff on food safety guidelines and regulations but this has decreased 5 percent from 98 percent in 2021.

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