The food industry is being encouraged to submit its views on the current state of the UK food system in order to back up Professor Chris Elliott's year-long, government-backed, review.
The review, which was launched by DEFRA in wake of the horsemeat scandal, will seeElliott's final report published in Spring 2014.
DEFRA is also interested to hear different opinions from members of the public and an online survey, which comprises of 32 questions, can be accessedhereby all until 7 August.
Questions delve into subjects including: how the government can increase consumer confidence in the UK supply chain; the impact of fraud on food safety; and how food safety checks can be improved.
'We expect Elliott to make recommendations to support improvements in the current supply chain and to help us improve consumer confidence,' said environmental minister Owen Paterson.
Nigel Jenney, chief executive of the Fresh Produce Consortium had warned suppliers against complacency back in February when details of the horsemeat scandal started to emerge. He said producers must ensure that something similar never happens in the fresh produce industry.
He explained:“We need to take time to reflect and ensure something like this doesn’t happen in fresh produce. But I also think that what this does emphasise is that the EU and the UK are over regulating our sector but failing to oversee and manage the processed and meat sectors adequately.”
