Diminished FSA to Retain Food Safety Mandate
The UK Department of Health (DH) has announced its intention to preserve the Food Standards Agency (FSA) as a non-ministerial authority responsible for food safety policy and enforcement. According to a July 20, 2010, press release, DH will take over England’s nutrition policies, including those related to (i) food labeling and health claims; (ii) dietetic food and food supplements; (iii) calorie information in catering establishments; and (iv) product reformulation to reduce salt, saturated fat, sugar, and portion sizes. DH will also conduct nutrition research and work with the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, while the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will handle country-of-origin labeling, other types of non-food-safety labeling, and food composition policies used to characterize products such as honey, jam, chocolate, and ice cream.
On matters of food safety, however, advice from FSA experts “would be final.” The authority will also retain oversight of nutrition and labeling policy in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This restructuring will transfer approximately 70 policy posts to DH and 25 to Defra, although 2,000 staff will remain with FSA.
“Reorganizing in this way will contribute to the Government’s objective to improve efficiency, and is paramount to the key priority of improving the health of the nation by creating a public health service,” stated DH. “To achieve this coherence, some policy-based functions can be brought ‘in house’ to give a more coordinated approach on health and food issues.” See Written Ministerial Statement, July 20, 2010
