The Food Standards Agency’s
Strategy for 2010–2015
As a result of this
strategic plan, you
should expect to
be eating safer food
and to be choosing
healthier and more
balanced meals
by 2015
If you want the facts on food, we’re the standard
Chair’s foreword
I’m delighted to introduce our five-year
strategy to safeguard the UK’s food and
encourage positive dietary change.
The Food Standards Agency Board
members and I are responsible for the
Agency’s overall strategic direction. We
act collectively in the public interest and
are committed to ensuring the Agency
continues its vital purpose – safe food
and healthy eating for all. This strategy,
developed in consultation with all of our
stakeholders, defines that purpose and
sets out the key objectives, priorities and
outcomes. These will continue to ensure
consumers can have trust and confidence in
the food they buy and eat.
Jeff Rooker
Chair
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The Food Standards Agency
Strategy for 2010–2015
Chief Executive’s introduction
To give a clear picture of what we’re
aiming to achieve, this plan describes
five outcomes and the approach we and
others will take to deliver public health
gains and protect consumer interests.
This gives a flavour of some, but by no
means all, of what we do.
As we move into our second decade, we
will respond to global changes in the food
supply chain and continue to work hard
to deliver our services efficiently, ensuring
the best use of public money. I’m looking
forward to us making continued strong
progress and earning even more consumer
confidence in our vital work.
Tim Smith
Chief Executive
Our purpose is safe food
and healthy eating for all
About the Food Standards Agency
We are an independent Government
department set up in 2000 by an Act of
Parliament to protect the public’s health
and consumer interests in relation to
food and drink. Our work also includes
animal feed.
We are governed by a Board, appointed
by Ministers to act collectively in the
public interest. We are accountable to
the UK Parliament and to the devolved
governments, through Health Ministers
or their equivalents.
Our core principles:
• putting the consumer first
• openness
• independence
• science and evidence-based
We are the UK Government department
responsible for food safety issues.
Operating within a framework of largely
European Union (EU) law, we also have
responsibility for regulation and policy on
food standards and animal feed and act as
the Central Competent Authority for food
and animal feed law.
We are responsible for ensuring that
food and animal feed law enforcement
is delivered effectively and consistently
throughout the UK.
We play a key role in promoting a healthier
diet in the UK. We do so in support of wider
public health policies. In this work we build
on our strong nutrition science expertise,
analysis of the evidence base, and the high
degree of consumer trust in our advice. We
are aided by our ability to work effectively
in partnership with others, such as food
businesses, to make change happen.
Putting the consumer first
We were established at a time when public
confidence in how Government handled
food safety issues was at an all-time low.
Our purpose and core principles are
as relevant now as when we were
established.
Since then, there have been real
improvements in food safety in the UK.
This progress has been matched with an
increase in public confidence.
There are a number of delivery agencies
throughout the UK with responsibility for
enforcement, such as trading standards
officials and environmental health officers
in local authorities, the Department of
Agriculture and Rural Development in
Northern Ireland, port health authorities
and the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS).
The MHS will be merged with the Food
Standards Agency (FSA) in 2010.
The Food Standards Agency
Strategy for 2010–2015
3
Strategic objective:
Improve food safety and the balance
of people’s diets
Outcome
Food produced
or sold in the UK
is safe to eat
Outcome
Imported food is
safe to eat
Outcome
Regulation is
effective, risk-based and
proportionate, is clear about
the responsibilities of food
business operators, and
protects consumers and
their interests from fraud
and other risks
Outcome
Food products
and catering
meals are
healthier
S af
4
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od an
The Food Standards Agency
Strategy for 2010–2015
Outcome
Consumers understand
about safe food and
healthy eating, and
have the information
they need to make
informed choices
d h e a lt h y e at i n g
al
fo r
l
Outcomes
Food produced or sold in the
UK is safe to eat
Food products and catering
meals are healthier
The main priorities:
• reduce foodborne disease using
a targeted approach – tackling
campylobacter in chicken as a priority
• increase horizon scanning and improve
forensic knowledge of, and intelligence
on, global food chains to identify and
reduce the impact of potential new
and re-emerging risks – particularly
chemical contamination
The main priorities:
• continue to achieve reductions
in levels of saturated fat, salt and
calories in food products
• encourage the development,
promotion and availability of healthier
options when shopping and eating out
• make sure that portion sizes
appropriate for a healthy diet
are available and promoted
Imported food is safe to eat
Regulation is effective, risk-based
and proportionate, is clear about
the responsibilities of food business
operators, and protects consumers and
their interests from fraud and other risks
The main priorities:
• work internationally to reduce risks
from food and feed originating in
non-EU countries
• ensure risk-based, targeted checks at
ports and local authority monitoring
of imports throughout the food chain
Consumers understand about safe
food and healthy eating, and have
the information they need to make
informed choices
The main priorities:
• improve public awareness and use of
messages about healthy eating and
good food hygiene practice at home
• increase provision of information to
consumers on the hygiene standards
of food premises when they choose
where to eat
• increase the availability of information
on calories in meals in catering
establishments
• promote the adoption of a single,
simple and effective front-of-pack
labelling approach
• develop and promote integrated
Government advice for consumers
on food issues
The Food Standards Agency
Strategy for 2010–2015
The main priorities:
• secure effective enforcement and
implementation of policies within the
UK to protect consumers from risks
related to food and from fraudulent
or misleading practices, targeting the
areas where there is highest risk
• develop our knowledge of what
works in driving up business
compliance with regulations
• safeguard consumers by making it
easier for businesses to comply with
regulations, and minimise burdens
on businesses
• secure more proportionate, riskbased and effective regulation by
strengthening our engagement
in the EU and in international forums
• work internationally to design a
model for a new regulatory and
enforcement regime for ensuring
meat controls are effective
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Working within the UK
We work with other Government
departments on food policies, particularly
in relation to healthy eating. We are a
UK-wide department and because there
are four governments in the UK, and
food policy is devolved, we work closely
with government in Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland. This is to ensure both
consistent application of food safety and
standards throughout the UK, and that our
work reflects national and local priorities
and circumstances.
We work jointly with our partners in the
delivery and enforcement community,
particularly environmental health and
trading standards officials in local
authorities. We also work with local
authority regulators and professional
bodies in all four UK countries, to
make sure that food law is applied and
enforced consistently.
We provide information and guidance
on best practice and legal requirements
to help food businesses understand and
comply with the law.
We aim to provide consumers with
reliable, up-to-date information about
food to help them make informed choices.
We work with consumers through, for
example, Citizens’ Forums, and with nonGovernmental organisations and the Third
Sector (this includes charities and other
public interest groups).
Working in the EU and internationally
We represent the UK Government on food
safety and standards issues in the EU and
are also active in the nutrition and health
arena. We work in close collaboration
with the European Commission, the
Council of the EU, Standing Committees,
the European Parliament and the European
Food Safety Authority.
We work internationally, representing
the UK Government on international
bodies such as the Joint FAO/WHO Codex
Alimentarius Commission, the World Health
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The Food Standards Agency
Strategy for 2010–2015
Organization, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, and
the World Trade Organization.
We also have strong links with food
authorities around the world – for example,
the Member States of the EU, the USA,
Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Science and Evidence Strategy
The Agency’s Science and Evidence
Strategy describes the priorities for the
evidence we will need and the activities
we will carry out to ensure we obtain and
use science and evidence effectively in
our work. It will support the delivery of
this five-year strategy, test our progress
and inform development of our work
beyond this period. The Science and
Evidence Strategy is published as a separate
document.
Sustainable development
We want to ensure our purpose of safe
food and healthy eating for all is achieved,
while maximising positive impacts and
minimising negative impacts on society,
the environment and the economy.
Currently, there is limited robust data on
what constitutes sustainable food but this
is an important issue. Our expertise lies in
food safety and nutrition so we will work
with sustainability experts to make progress
on this new agenda and build the necessary
evidence base, coherent policy responses
and advice to consumers. We will also
continue our horizon scanning processes
through the scientific advisory committees
and joining up across Government to
develop more understanding of, for
example, the interaction of climate change
with food safety.
We are committed to carbon reduction,
energy efficiency and recycling. We aim
to pursue sound environmental practices
at our offices to contribute to sustainable
development and so minimise the negative
environmental impacts of our activities.
Annual resource needs to achieve the five outcomes for 2011/12 onwards
Total annual resource needs = £151m
4%
45%
Effective, risk-based and proportionate
regulation: £67m (costs include meat
hygiene inspection)
8%
45%
21%
22%
Food produced or sold in the UK is safe to
eat: £34m
21%
Consumers understand about safe food
and healthy eating and can make informed
choices: £32m
8%
Imported food is safe to eat: £12m
22%
4%
Food products and catering meals are
healthier: £6m
The FSA is funded by the UK Parliament, Scottish Government, Welsh Assembly Government
and Northern Ireland Assembly.
Resources
The resources that we will need to
deliver the priorities of this strategy, our
statutory obligations and commitments
as a Government department, are shown
above according to the strategic outcomes
they support.
Delivering value
In delivering the outcomes set out on the
previous pages, we aim to work in a way
that is sustainable for the future, delivers
value for money for the taxpayer now, and
gives businesses a fair deal. We aim to work
smarter as a Government department and
as a food regulator. We will deliver better
value for money through a series of
measures. These include the formal merger
of the FSA and MHS, and their corporate
support services, to create a new FSA
Operations Group with the work of the
MHS at its core. We will also configure the
organisation in line with our strategy.
The Food Standards Agency
Strategy for 2010–2015
Performance measures
We will set performance measures to
monitor progress against the five key
outcomes we are pursuing in the strategy.
We will also evaluate the impact we and
our partners are having in improving public
health. We will do this by measuring trends
in foodborne disease and monitoring
dietary intakes of salt, saturated fat and
calories, and consumption of fruit and
vegetables.
We will review the strategy each year and
will adjust it as necessary to ensure that
public health is protected from both food
safety risks and dietary imbalances.
The analysis and evidence used to support
this strategy and further information on
how we will evaluate achievement against
the five outcomes can be found on our
website at food.gov.uk/strategy
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Stay up to date
For more information and advice about food,
visit the Food Standards Agency’s websites:
food.gov.uk
eatwell.gov.uk
Food Standards Agency publications
To order copies of this or other publications
produced by the Agency, contact
Food Standards Agency publications:
tel: 0845 606 0667
minicom: 0845 606 0678
fax:
020 8867 3225
[email protected]
email:
Published by the Food Standards Agency December 2009
Design by The Team
Print by CW Print
©Crown Copyright 2009
Printed in England on paper comprising a minimum 75% recycled fibre
FSA/1477/1109