Actions Arising – Business Committee

Action 1 - Chief Executive’s Report to the Business Committee (FSA BC 25/09/03)

Junior Johnson to provide Board members with a summary of known authenticity risks and NFCU priorities.

10 December  2025

Junior Johnson – Complete: The NFCU Control Strategy is informed by an intelligence-led review to maintain our situational awareness of the food crime landscape and outlines the Unit’s current food crime priorities.

One of the priority areas that the NFCU are focusing on until March 2026 is ‘specific supply chains presenting high levels of authenticity risk to the UK’.

There are several known authenticity risks being prioritised by the NFCU. Rice currently forms part of this work, following operational developments as part of an NFCU-led tasked operation. Authenticity risks in herbs and spices were also picked up through OPSON XIV – with cinnamon, saffron, nutmeg and black pepper all seeing failures during the testing phase of the project.

More recently, the NFCU has focused on a new emerging potential risk concerning goat meat authenticity, where specifically targeted sampling has identified failure levels with the meat being identified as sheep meat.

Action 2 - Performance Report Q1 2025-26 (FSA BC 25/09/04)

Rebecca Sudworth to provide a revised forecast of expected applications and throughput.

Rebecca Sudworth – In Progress Plan to reflect Board decision about priorities.

Action 3 - Performance Report Q1 2025-26 (FSA BC 25/09/04)

A paper outlining the proposed prioritisation strategy to be brough to be presented to Board Members in 2025.

2025

Rebecca Sudworth – Complete:

Market Authorisation plan Outlined to Board at the October retreat

Action 4 - Performance Report Q1 2025-26 (FSA BC 25/09/04)

Rick Mumford to consider how KPIs for externally funded science projects could be better represented in future reporting.

Rick Mumford – Complete: Following the implementation of new tools for measuring the usage of our scientific outputs, we are reviewing how to use this new data to develop meaningful impact KPIs.  These will cover all FSA science activity, both internal and externally funded, including using the findings of the PATH-SAFE/ISF evaluation.  We have asked Science Council to support our work on impact and KPIs and will be discussing this at their next meeting in December 2025.

Action 5 - Performance Report Q1 2025-26 (FSA BC 25/09/04)

Rick Mumford to prepare a sampling overview for the Business Committee, including funding, purpose, and impact.

Closed - This overview will be addressed through a deep-dive on strategic sampling at the Board’s January retreat.  A separate update on operational sampling has been agreed with the Business Committee Chair and is included in the performance report for the December 2025 meeting.

Action 6 - Animal Feed (FSA BC 25/09/07)

Rebecca Sudworth to bring Animal Feed as a regular annual update to the Business Committee.

Rebecca Sudworth – Closed Regular Animal Feed update to be provided to the Business Committee each September.

Action 2 – Chief Executive’s Report to the Business Committee (FSA BC 25/06/03)

NFCU to consider publicising the Confiscation Order as well as successful outcomes to improve the deterrent to food fraud

National Food Crime Unit – Complete

The NFCU through Comms are increasingly promoting our successes which include Confiscation Orders. This includes a recent £30K confiscation order secured under Op Mantis. FSA secures £30,000 confiscation after illegal ‘smokie’ sales | Food Standards Agency

This previously included promoting the fact that our Financial Investigators were the first to realise a particular cryptocurrency to pay off a confiscation order. Drug dealer who sold deadly ‘weight loss pills’ pays back £23,000 in first Monero cryptocurrency payout | The Crown Prosecution Service

Our latest successful cases refer to future hearings where applications will be made for confiscation orders under the proceeds of crime act.

We have also promoted internally how we have donated some of the money the FSA has received from confiscation orders to a boxing club to help young people stay off the streets and away from involvement in crime. Fantastic use of ARIS funds This article was not promoted externally via FSA Comms as it was not deemed appropriate to put this out through our national media channels.

Action 3 – Chief Executive’s Report to the Business Committee (FSA BC 25/06/03)

Darren Whitby to provide an update for the Board via a weekly circulation on progress of the UKHSA led working group on improving protocols for handling incidents in healthcare settings.

Autumn 2025

Darren Whitby – Ongoing Limited progress on this work since the UKHSA-led meeting in April, due to summer priorities and resource gaps, we have requested further updates on the work and clarity on UKHSA prioritisation.  FSA team has recruited to resolve resource gap and will seek progress with UKHSA.  We will update when working group reconvenes

Action 6 – Performance Report Q4 2024-25 (FSA BC 25/06/04)

Nathan Barnhouse to consider what analysis can be added to slide on LA FTE resource.

Nathan Barnhouse – Closed: The resource tool for hygiene has been launched and it will take 12 months for us to evaluate how it’s work (LAs need 12 months to use it and then compare it with service plans). We have commenced work on a tool for standards and for unitary authorities (combined services).

This will enable the FSA to re-evaluate the ratio of officer to establishment, and set more accurate milestones, which will be based upon a consistently derived figure for resource needed and resource in post, which can be compared with establishment level performance data supplied by LAs once the LA data project is fully operational.

We are also in the process of setting up research to look at whether there is a looming ‘cliff edge’ in relation to LA resource.

This will allow us to evidence how under resourcing impacts on service delivery. We will then be able to present information at national level, and also allow us to indicate the percentage of individual LAs who are attempting to operate at sub optimal level of staff with a high degree of certainty.