+ 44 (0) 1400 283090
The Plastic Tax has now been in place since the 1st April and HMRC have recently sent the Federation an…
You must be logged in to view this content.
Sea food processing company fined after fatality involving forklift
A sea food processing company has been fined after a worker died following injuries sustained when she was run over by a forklift
Lerwick Sheriff Court heard on 31 January 2018, that Karen Allen’ an employee of QA Fish Ltd suffered significant leg injuries as a pedestrian, following a vehicular collision in Scalloway, Shetland.
A joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and Police Scotland found that no site-specific workplace transport risk assessment had been carried out. The use of the forklift truck was critical for the function of the business and the company failed to provide suitable and sufficient control measures to ensure that pedestrians and vehicles could circulate in a safe manner in the exterior of the premises, particularly with regards to the forklift truck.
The company failed to implement effective arrangements for the management of health and safety and also failed to act on the advice of a health and safety consultant several years prior to the incident.
QA Fish Ltd of Blacksness Pier, Shetland have pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2(1) and Section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and have been fined £80,000, to be paid within 12 months.
Speaking after the case HSE inspector Connor Gibson said “The tragic outcome of this incident clearly highlights why dutyholders must ensure that vehicle and pedestrian movements at their work site are properly assessed and adequately controlled. This fatal incident could and should have been prevented via suitable and sufficient control measures segregating pedestrians from vehicle movements.”
HSE 26th May 2022
GOVERNMENT CONSULTATION UNITS OF MEASURE
The Government has published a consultation on how to implement a change to the law on weights and measures, so that shoppers and business have greater choice over the way they buy and sell products.
The consultation will help the government consider, for example, allowing vegetables to be sold in pounds only, or in pounds with a less prominent metric equivalent, should businesses wish to do so. This will help inform the Government’s plans to legislate to give businesses greater choice in the units they use.
Government has stressed that there is no intention to require businesses to change their existing practices and so this will not place greater costs on businesses.
UK law currently requires metric units to be used, as the primary indication, for all trade purposes with only limited exceptions, reflecting rules from our time in the EU. This is set out in EU Directive 80/181/EC (as amended).
Currently, imperial units are only authorised for use on their own in a small number of cases such sales of draught beer and cider. Now we have left the EU, the UK can act in the best interests of its businesses and consumers.
The measurements consultation will run for 12 weeks, and a range of stakeholders are being invited to contribute, including businesses, trade associations, enforcement bodies and consumer organisations.
Should you wish us to contribute to the consultation anonymously on your behalf, please do not hesitate to contact deniserion@bfff.co.uk.
FSA LAUNCHES CONSULTATION ON ADDITIONAL NFCU INVESTIGATORY POWERS
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has launched a consultation seeking views from the public, public health professionals and food sector partners on the proposed enhancement of the investigatory powers of the National Food Crime Unit (NFCU).
The NFCU is a law enforcement unit of the FSA and it tackles serious, organised, or complex cases of crime in relation to food. Its role is to detect, investigate and disrupt serious fraud and related criminality within food supply chains, across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 which received Royal Assent on 28 April includes a regulation-making power for the Secretary of State to confer additional investigatory powers upon food crime officers of the FSA in England and Wales. The Act also brings the NFCU under the remit of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Stakeholders in England and Wales are invited to respond to the twelve-week consultation. Separate legislation governing investigatory powers applies in Northern Ireland. The FSA intends to hold a consultation for Northern Ireland in due course.
This consultation does not apply to Scotland, where Food Standards Scotland’s dedicated Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit is responsible for delivering the food crime response.
The consultation is available on the FSA website, where you can also find out about the work of the NFCU.
FURTHER SUBSTITUTE OILS NOW APPROVED FOR USE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO SUNFLOWER OIL
Following an assessment carried out by FSA, fully refined corn oil/fully refined maize oil can now be used to substitute sunflower oil without a declaration of the change on the label, as short-term measure, with a pragmatic enforcement approach taken by LAs.
The full list of oils that may now be used to substitute sunflower oil can be found in the table in Annex 1 of an enforcement letter issued to Local Authorities.
The FSA have reiterated the request that LAs ensure business provide sufficient information on supporting mitigations and that businesses indicate the necessary steps being taken, with timescales, for working towards a return to compliance as soon as possible.
If you have any queries relating to this matter please email the FSA on receiptandmanagement@food.gov.uk. The FSA also encourage you to direct any queries to your responsible LA.
POTENTIAL CYBER SECURITY RISK TO AGRICULTURE
A report by the University of Cambridge has highlighted that internet-connected technology which is increasingly used in the agricultural industry could be vulnerable to exploitation, if not sufficiently protected.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has previously worked with the National Farmers Union (NFU) to support the Agriculture and Farming Sector and created useful cyber security guidance for farmers explaining why cyber security matters in farming and steps to take.
This is important for ultimately assuring food chain security, in which agriculture plays a vital role.
+ 44 (0) 1400 283090
