The Food Standards Agency

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The Food Standards Agency

• Ned Kingcott

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The Food Standards Agency - a newGovernment
Department
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Major advisory committees

• Food Advisory Committee
• Advisory Committee on Microbiological Safety of
  Food
• Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes
• Spongiform Encephalopathy Advisory Committee
• Advisory Committee on Animal Feedingstuffs
• Committee on Toxicology

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The Board of the Agency

• Chairman and Deputy Chairman
• Two members for Scotland, one for Wales and one
  for Northern Ireland
• Eight other members
• open competition
• individual expertise
• not representing sectoral interests

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London Headquarters

• Staffed by civil servants most from MAFF and
  Dept. Health but some new appointees
• Four groups
• food safety policy
• enforcement and standards
• communications
• resources and corporate strategy

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Powers and functions

• The Agency will
• advise Ministers on food policy
• support consumer choice through accurate and
  meaningful labelling and information on food
  safety, diet and nutrition
• protect consumers through surveillance and
  enforcement of food safety and standards (through
  MHS and local authorities)
• commission research and monitoring to underpin
  all its functions

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Relationship with Parliament

• non-Ministerial department
• accountable through Health Ministers (or
  equivalent)
• not an executive agency of DH
• annual report to Parliament

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New values

• to put the consumer first
• to be open and accessible
• to be an independent voice

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New powers

• Publication of advice to Ministers
• Powers to enter premises to collect information
  and/or samples from farm to fork
• Monitoring and audit of local authority
  enforcement activity

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Challenges ahead

• Earning trust and confidence
• Risk assessment, communication and management

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FSA STRATEGIC PLAN
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Foodborne Disease Targets

• To reduce Salmonella contamination of UK produced
  retail chicken by at least 50 by April 2005
• To reduce the incidence of foodborne disease by
  20 by April 2006

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Monitoring Levels of Foodborne Disease - the
Agencys Approach

• Select key foodborne pathogens
• those that cause most cases
• those that cause severest disease
• Monitor through routine laboratory reports
• Exclude travel-associated cases
• Checks on changes in lab reporting

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Monitoring Food Poisoning Levels - The
Difficulties

• Causes of food poisoning can be wide ranging
  (includes contamination from chemicals, microbes
  and toxins)
• Food poisoning includes cases associated with
  water which the Agency does not have
  responsibility for
• Food poisoning cases are under-reported
• Inadequacies of the notification process

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The Strategy - Farm to Fork

• The Strategy haws 3 key strands
• sector-specific measures to reduce contamination
  of foods
• promoting better management of food safety
• HACCP
• education and training
• measures to promote hygiene in the kitchen
• catering
• domestic

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The Strategy - Farm to Fork

• The Strategy haws 3 key strands
• sector-specific measures to reduce contamination
  of foods
• promoting better management of food safety
• HACCP
• education and training
• measures to promote hygiene in the kitchen
• catering
• domestic

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1. Controlling Food Contamination During
Production

• Poultry
• promoting effective on farm controls (e.g. advice
  relating to crate washing, testing and scheduling
  of birds, improved biosecurity measures)
• developing improved detection and typing
  methodology for Campylobacter
• Red meat
• HACCP in slaughterhouses
• new approaches to meat inspection
• Meat products
• FVO visit recommendations

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1. Controlling Food Contamination During
Production (cont)

• Milk and Dairy
• improved control of pasteurisation
• prevention of post-pasteurisation contamination
• Fruit Veg
• guidelines on the safe use of manures
• Fish and Shellfish
• classification of shellfish harvesting areas
• Eggs
• vaccination

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2. Promoting Food Safety Management

• HACCP Implementation and monitoring
• Enhanced advice, support and training for
  industry - catering, ethnic and SMES being
  priority areas
• Improved support, guidance and training for
  enforcers
• Education initiatives

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HACCP - Implementation Levels in 2001
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HACCP Barriers - Issues for the Agency to Overcome

• Perceived complexity bureaucracy
• Lack of knowledge adequate training
• Lack of simple, authoritative information
• Enforcement difficulties

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Focus of The Strategy

• sector-specific measures to reduce contamination
  of foods
• promoting better management of food safety
• HACCP
• education and training
• measures to promote hygiene in the kitchen
• the food hygiene campaign

The Food Hygiene Campaign
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The Food Hygiene Campaign - Why Target Caterers?

• the majority of general food poisoning outbreaks
  are associated with catering businesses (PHLS
  data).
• The highest level of prosecutions taken across
  the UK in 2001 were against restaurants - 53 of
  cases were for food hygiene offences
• Consumer Attitude Survey results shows that more
  than 50 of consumers are concerned about hygiene
  standards in catering establishments
• The size of the catering industry

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What the Campaign Has to Do

• Campaign Objectives
• Raise awareness of food poisoning as an issue
• Establish the link between poor food hygiene and
  food poisoning
• Increase understanding of the key hygiene
  messages
• Change food hygiene attitudes, knowledge and
  behaviour

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Trade Press Advert Food hygiene - its in your
hands
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TV advertising campaign
First 40 second TV advert
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Strategic Nutrition Framework

• The main elements are
• Securing a sound evidence base for action
• Developing appropriate means of informing the
  public
• Identifying and addressing barriers to changing
  dietary behaviour
• Evaluating and monitoring
• effectiveness of our actions

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Food risk
UK deaths per year related to diet or
food Risk Approximate number Cardiovascular
disease 73,000 Cancer 34,000 Obesity 3
0,000 Food borne illness (estimated)
50 Food allergy (anaphylactic shock)
lt20 vCJD 28 GMOs,pesticides,growth
hormones nil
assumes one-third of cardiovascular disease
deaths and one-quarter of cancer deaths are
diet-related
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Four most common problems linked to obesity

• Heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Osteoarthritis

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What the Agency wants to achieve?

• long term improvements in diet and nutrition of
  the UK population
• reduction in inequalities by enabling and
  encouraging the disadvantaged and vulnerable to
  improve their diets

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Examples of the Agencys work

• Low Income
• Work with Industry
• Work in schools
• Provision of information

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Work with industry

• Reduction of salt, fat, and sugar
• Labelling
• Catering for health
• Nutritional Guidelines for looked after children

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Food deserts research

• AIMS
• To determine the relationship between dietary
  intake and socio-economic factors
• To determine retail access to a healthy and
  affordable diet
• Cross-sectional studies in Newcastle
• Use analyses to
• identify characteristics of food deserts
• suggest action to tackle inequalities

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Local initiatives

• Food co-ops
• Low cost cafes
• Cooking and budgeting classes
• Tasting sessions
• Local transport initiatives
• Allotment promotion
• Voucher schemes