FSA attacked over 'heavy handed' regime

The long standing wrangle between the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers and the Food Standards Agency continued yesterday with the former accusing the latter of taking a "heavy handed approach" to enforcement.

The issue flared up following the publication of a detailed enforcement review by Alan Kirkwood, a leading industry figure who concluded that the FSA's current approach to enforcement and its reliance on the use of criminal law to deal was "heavy handed" with issues which were, at worst, civil law matters.

The problem is that while BSE has all but disappeared from the UK, the regulatory regime from the peak years largely exists to this day and it is the enforcement of these regulations that Kirkwood is critical.

Alan Craig, the SAMW president, welcomed the review, adding: "For too long the FSA has espoused partnership working with abattoirs to deliver proportionate, risk-based controls, whilst falling well short of these aspirations in practice.

"We have had members dragged through the courts and criminalised for miniscule breaches of regulations which were not in any way negligent or a tangible threat to meat hygiene or public health."