News CTSI Conference 2016: plenary session topics announced Raising standards in products and consumer care in business is just one of the debates set to take place at CTSI Conference 2016. The three-day event, being staged at the International Centre in Telford, between 20-23 June, will see television broadcaster and TS Review columnist Matt Allwright host a debate on the Wednesday, while CTSI chief executive Leon Livermore will kick off the plenary programme with a Question Time session on the Tuesday. Panellists will also debate where the responsibility for our health lies, during the third and final plenary session on the Thursday. To book a delegate place, download the booking form. Further details about the event can be obtained by contacting CTSI’s events team on 01268 886696 or by emailing tsievents@tsi.org.uk In the wake of the horsemeat scandal, the European consumer organisation (BEUC) has published a report calling for stricter enforcement on food labelling. Between April 2014 and August 2015, BEUC member organisations tested several types of meat-based foods to check their labels, ingredients, and for the presence of undeclared or illegal food additives. Results showed a large number of discrepancies – and in some cases vast differences – between what the labels said and what the products were actually made of. The BEUC says EU requirements on the labelling of meat-based foods and on the use of food additives in these products must be tightened. In particular, it would like to see: l Checks on labels for meat-based foods must be more frequent l More systematic controls of the addition of water to meat-based foods are needed l Member states must put greater emphasis on checking the proper application of EU rules l These rules should define which food additives, and in what quantities, they can be used l Food fraud must remain high on the EU and member states’ agenda l The EU proposal must provide an effective legal framework to detect, dissuade and punish fraud better l Where appropriate, legal definitions should be clarified – for example meat preparation v meat product – to help remove grey areas that may be taken advantage of To find out more, read the report or see this month’s infographic. BEUC calls for stricter meat labelling requirements Builder who bullied victims into handing over thousands is jailed for six years A cowboy builder who cajoled and bullied elderly and vulnerable people into having unnecessary work done to their homes has been jailed for six years. Alfie Ackleton, 35, of Gravesend, Kent, committed fraud offences worth more than £308,000 and criminal damage. Since January 2014, Kent Trading Standards has undertaken a major investigation into Ackleton, who traded under the name Premier Roofing and Building Solutions. Ackleton was found to have carried out poor roofing work and home improvements for several vulnerable victims in the Kent and Medway area. He conned a £288,000 inheritance from one vulnerable victim alone. The victim wanted to use the money left to him by his mother to renovate his semi-detached home to prevent him requiring care services in the future. An independent expert said the work carried out should have cost £26,000 at most. The house was left in a poor state, and furniture taken from the victim was never returned. Ackleton took £12,000 from another elderly couple in poor health, and £10,000 from a victim who wanted her garden renovated while she was having treatment for cancer. Ackleton pleaded guilty to all charges but went on the run prior to sentencing. The court issued a bail warrant and he was eventually arrested at another vulnerable victim’s house in Kent after an anonymous tip-off. He appeared at Maidstone Crown Court in November to be sentenced. Read a full account of the trading standards investigation in the February 2016 issue of TS Review. Largest tobacco haul in UK – worth £1m – made in Derbyshire Almost two million illegal cigarettes and 580kg of tobacco, with a street value of at least £1m, has been seized in one of the biggest trading standards hauls in the UK. Derbyshire Trading Standards officers worked with police and sniffer dogs to inspect six units on a self-storage site in the south of the county. They also found 31,000 Viagra-type tablets worth £155,000, 60 items of counterfeit clothing, including fake G-Star jeans and Barbour jackets worth £5,000, and 30 boxes of illegally stored display fireworks valued at £6,000. One man from Derby has been questioned and bailed pending further enquiries. Several other enquiries are ongoing while officers continue to catalogue the seized goods. Councillor Dave Allen, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for Health and Communities, said: ‘This is one of the biggest single seizures of fake and illicit tobacco by trading standards officers in the UK and comes following a concerted campaign against sellers and suppliers of illegal cigarettes by our team over the past two years. ‘We have a duty to support legitimate traders and protect consumers from fake cigarettes, potentially harmful or ineffective medicines and overpriced fake branded clothing, and are committed to continuing our work to tackle this illicit trade.’ Officers also raided shops in Long Eaton, Newhall, Ripley, and two in Ilkeston, during the enforcement exercise on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 December 2015. They seized 10,000 cigarettes and 15kg of hand-rolling tobacco, mostly hidden in concealed panels. Despite having no legal powers to close shops selling counterfeit tobacco, Derbyshire’s trading standards team has closed seven outlets over the last two years by working with shop landlords to remove problem tenants. This will prevent an estimated extra 400,000 packets of illegal cigarettes being sold in the county each year. To read more on Derbyshire Trading Standards ongoing battle with illegal tobacco, read cover story, ‘Ganging up’, in the November 2015 issue of TS Review.