Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what measures are in place to monitor (a) food fraud and (b) mislabelling in (i) retail and (ii) wholesale markets.

The Food Standards Agency’s (FSA) National Food Crime Unit monitors UK food fraud through intelligence-led analysis, which supports the shaping of targeted food fraud investigations.

Defra officials and the FSA work closely with local authority food teams who enforce food labelling rules across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, to address labels that may be misleading or non-compliant.

Where there is a public health risk, the FSA issues alerts and product recalls to protect the public. Trading Standards and Environmental Health officers undertake inspections and sampling at both retail and wholesale premises and have powers to take enforcement action where necessary.