Food criminals face stricter punishment

Businesses convicted of serious food safety offences could face fines of up to £3m, under proposals put forward by the Sentencing Council in response to the horsegate scandal.

A consultation on new guidelines for magistrates and judges in England and Wales also outlined plans for longer jail terms for convicted individuals.

The Sentencing Council said there had been ‘significant public concern’ following last year’s horsemeat scandal.

Although most such cases would be likely to be prosecuted as fraud, the council said: ‘The food offences covered by the draft guidelines in this consultation may be engaged for ancillary matters in such cases; for example, for failure to retain documentation required to trace the origin of the product being sold.’ Read full article from here: