Recruiters have urged the government to include providers of all stages of food processing in the Gangmasters Licensing Scheme, set to come into force in April.

When the Act was agreed, the expectation was that it would include the supply of labour to fresh food, agricultural and shellfish businesses, following the Morecambe Bay tragedy in 2004 in which 23 cockle pickers died.

But ministers could yet exclude labour providers which supply second-stage processing, for example, crisp, cake or biscuit manufacture. Trimming, washing and packaging lettuces would be initial processing.

Including cockle pickers specifically in the Act, however, is proving difficult for ministers.

According to Mark Boleat, chairman of the Association of Labour Providers (ALP), many cockle pickers are self-employed, and have little desire to come under government regulation - despite the deaths at Morecambe Bay.

“The ALP does not believe a distinction can be drawn between food packing and processing,” said Boleat. “There is a real danger that initially the Act may cover only what happens in farms.”

Andy Hogarth, managing director of recruitment firm Staffline, agrees that the Act should extend to all food processing and packaging.

“It's daft that food processing may not yet come under the Act,” he said.

A Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs spokesman said: “Defra and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) went to consultation on the boundaries of the Gangmasters Licensing Scheme and rules last year. The consultation closed on 16 December 2005 and the results have gone to ministers who will feed back in due course.”

Recruiters can apply for a licence from 6 April. It will be an offence to supply workers without a licence from 1 October, and it will be an offence for a labour user or client to use an unlicensed gangmaster from

1 December.