Royal aide is probed over ‘fake’ Hebridean sea salt
Food champion and friend of Charles is facing investigation into dissolved f irm
A TRUSTED adviser to Prince Charles is facing investigation over his role in a gourmet sea salt company accused of deceiving customers.
David Whiteford OBE is one of only two directors of Hebridean Sea Salt, which went out of business amid allegations of food fraud.
Although the company claimed to be selling artisan sea salt, hand-harvested from the waters of the Hebrides, Scotland’s food standards watchdog suspected the firm was bulking out its product with imported table salt. Now The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal that the administrators, appointed last week after the company was dissolved, will be scrutinising 60-yearold Mr Whiteford’s involvement in the firm.
They are expected to question him as they investigate the ‘conduct of the company and all directors’ – and try to find a way to repay the firm’s creditors, owed a total of £244,000. Mr Whiteford, a farmer based in Nigg, Easter Ross, is chairman of Scotland’s Food and Drink Hub, a company set up to help small and medium-sized food producers be more efficient and explore new opportunities.
He was awarded the OBE in 2000 for services to agriculture and in 2008 he became an associate of the Royal Agricultural Society. He was also a director and owner of independent food production regulators Scottish Food Quality Certification.
But he is better known for his highprofile role as chairman of The North Highland Initiative, set up by Prince Charles in August 2005. He and Charles are frequently in contact to discuss the group’s work promoting the economy of Scotland’s far north, and are often photographed together at food and community events.
Hebridean Sea Salt, fronted by marine resources graduate Natalie Crayton, was set up in 2012. Mr Whiteford was appointed a director in June 2014. The small artisan business, run from a rented warehouse on the Isle of Lewis, was handed thousands in public funding as well as assistance from the Prince’s Trust. It claimed its salt was ‘hand harvested using the simplest of recipes; Hebridean Sea Water, heat and time... Nothing added, nothing removed’.
But earlier this year a tip-off from a disgruntled former employee led to much of the stock being seized by the Food Standards Scotland (FSS) watchdog. Ms Crayton, 35, denied any wrongdoing and said only a tiny amount of extra salt was added in line with common industry practice.
But in an unusual move, FSS said over 80 per cent of the so-called Hebridean delicacy contained shipped-in ingredients. A public statement said: ‘Deception of consumers on this scale is not acceptable.’
Documents submitted to Stornoway Sheriff Court last week stated the firm could not ‘pay its debts as they fall due’ and reported a financial ‘deficiency’ of £244,106, despite grants totalling £147,405 over the past five years. The company applied voluntarily to be dissolved.
Mr Whiteford said last night: ‘I confirm that I was a director of Hebridean Sea Salt. To my knowledge nothing untoward ever took place, so I’m happy to assist with any enquiries and investigations.’
‘Deception on this scale is not acceptable’