Councillor for Brackley area urges people to look out for illegally sold food and drink

A West Northants councillor has warned people to keep an eye out for food and drink being sold illegally.

A councillor for the Brackley area has warned people to keep an eye out for food and drink being sold illegally.

Food crime, where food and drink are illegally sold, is often unsafe, and can range from isolated acts of dishonesty by an individual to organised illegal activities planned by criminal networks, and is estimated to cost £1.17 billion a year in the UK.

Cllr. David Smith, the cabinet member for community safety engagement and regulatory services at West Northamptonshire Council, has warned the public that the most common types of food crime are:

theft - dishonestly obtaining food, drink, or feed products to profit from their use or sale

illegal processing - slaughtering or preparing meat and related products in unapproved premises or using unauthorised techniques

waste diversion - illegally diverting food, drink or feed meant for disposal, back into the supply chain

adulteration - including a foreign substance that is not on the product’s label to lower costs or fake a higher quality

substitution - replacing a food or ingredient with another substance that is similar but inferior

misrepresentation - marketing or labelling a product to wrongly portray its quality, safety, origin or freshness

fraud - making, using or possessing false documents with the intent to sell or market a fraudulent or substandard product

Cllr. Smith said: "Consumers of food and drink products should have confidence that their food is safe and what it says it is.

"However, unfortunately, there are individuals and businesses who continue to exploit consumers by illegally selling and distributing counterfeit items which can be seriously harmful to consumers, food businesses and the wider food industry.

"We would urge anyone who is made aware of potential food crime or suspects illegal activity to report this our teams or the food standards agency. Together, we can help to stamp out food crime."

People have been warned to look out for food or drink that is significantly cheaper than expected, shops that could be extending durability dates or using poorer quality products, and food being delivered to shops or food businesses in non-business vehicles.

If you have concerns about food crime in the Brackley area please contact West Northamptonshire Council Environmental Health Team: [email protected]