Farm News
‘CRISIS OF
CONFIDENCE’ IN FOOD
SUPPLY CHAIN AS TWO
IMPRISONED OVER
HORSE MEAT CRIME
» » TWO MEN HAVE BEEN SENT
to prison for defrauding
consumers by labelling horse
meat as beef.
The Food Standards
Authority said the sentence
‘sends out a clear signal’
that food crime will not be
tolerated.
Andronicos Sideras, owner
of Dinos and Sons Ltd, and
Ulrich Nielsen of Flexi Foods
were sentenced to four years
and six months and three years
and six months imprisonment
respectively at Inner London
Crown Court in August.
‘a big issue for
the public to be
concerned about’
A third man, Alex Ostler-
Beech, also of Flexi Foods was
given an 18 month suspended
sentence.
On a number of occasions
Mr Sideras, Mr Nielsen and Mr
Ostler-Beech had conspired to
mix consignments of beef with
horsemeat, falsely labelling it as
beef and thereby inflating their
profits as a result.
Their crime was discovered
after an environmental
health officer visited a meat
manufacturer in Newry,
Northern Ireland.
The FSA led the
investigation before passing
the responsibility to the City of
London police in 2013.
Heather Hancock,
Chairman of the FSA, said:
“The sentencing today is the
result of an immense effort by
The scandal broke when
horsemeat DNA was found
in “beef” burgers on sale
in some supermarkets.
individuals in a multi-agency
investigation and, as well as
the police, I’d like to highlight
the key role played by local
authorities in securing the
conviction.
“Today’s sentences should
act as a deterrent to those
who think they can profit from
committing food fraud.”
Judge Owen Davies QC
said: “It was not confined to
this country, not confined to the
firms we have heard about, and
it’s a big issue for the public to
be concerned about, but the fact
is it was discovered by accident
and only emerged as a problem
because of your activity.
“It’s not a mitigating factor,
in my judgement, that other
people were at it as well as
you.
“It’s difficult to recall now
the conditions that made this
horsemeat scandal headline
news every day five years ago
but it made an impact on the
public in general.”
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay
said the scandal had led to a
‘crisis of confidence’ in the food
supply chain which hit sales.
30 Autumn 2017 www.farmers-mart.co.uk
HSE warn on
‘undue risks’
Farmers will be held accountable in
line with health and safety legislation.
» » FARMERS PUTTING
themselves and their
workers’ health and safety
in jeopardy throughout the
potato harvest will be held
accountable, the Health
and Safety Executive (HSE)
warned as this year’s harvest
got under way.
HSE inspectors is visiting
farms that are harvesting
potatoes across the country,
providing safety advice and
guidelines. But they say
recent events show that
farmers and workers are still
not managing the risks they
face, creating undue risk to
their own and their workers’
health and safety.
For those farmers failing to
adequately plan harvesting
activities or manage risk,
HSE has warned it will
use its full powers to hold
them accountable in line
with health and safety
legislation.
FOCUS SHARPENED
FOLLOWING DEATH
The regulator has
sharpened its focus in light of
the death of an agricultural
engineer who was working
on a potato harvester when
the incident occurred.
The investigation is in its
very early stages but the
‘One poor
decision –
life-changing
implications’
circumstances surrounding
the incident will form part of
the investigation.
HSE’s head of agriculture,
Rick Brunt, said: “We
encourage farmers to do all
they can to manage the risks
and reduce the likelihood of
incidents.
“There is an abundance
of free resources on the
HSE website that farmers
and workers can refer to,
to ensure they’re compliant
with the law. We would like
to remind all employers
of their legal obligation to
comply with health and
safety law as one poor
decision could have life-
changing implications.”
‘We encourage
farmers to do
all they can to
manage the
risks and reduce
the likelihood
of incidents’
Throughout the inspection
initiative, inspectors are
checking that:
Haulm and clod rollers
were properly guarded;
PTO guards were in good
condition; harvester
operators had been trained;
all drivers followed Safe
Stop; work equipment was
adequately maintained; the
right access equipment was
used for working at height.
www.hse.gov.uk