The Food Standards Agency, the organisation I am pleased to have chaired since 2021, is marking its 25th anniversary this month. Since the beginning, the FSA’s priority has been to protect consumers by upholding high standards in food safety and ensuring the authenticity of food.
The FSA was set up by government in the wake of the BSE crisis, a time when food scandals had not only cost lives but also dealt a blow to the food industry, resulting in financial and reputational loss both here and overseas. We have worked closely with the industry in subsequent years to protect the public and restore trust in food. In the UK, we can now all be proud that we have some of the highest food standards in the world.
Food safety successes
Beyond our core work and daily operations, we have introduced step changes that have brought benefits for the public. The green food hygiene rating stickers displayed in restaurant windows, which we introduced in 2010, give people confidence in their dining choices and motivate businesses to maintain high standards.
More than three-quarters of businesses are currently achieving the top rating of five in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the food hygiene rating scheme was recognised by the Royal Society for Public Health as one of the top 20 public health achievements of the 21st century.
There are also better protections for some of the more vulnerable in our society. We worked closely with industry to implement Natasha’s Law, requiring full ingredient labelling on prepacked foods for direct sale. This vital protection for the two million people living with food allergies is an example of how responsive regulation can save lives, while providing clarity for businesses on their responsibilities.
Our strength comes from a resolute commitment to public health and our independence from day-to-day politics, industry and vested interest groups. The FSA board considers the broad public interest in food matters and weighs the latest evidence, while at the same time managing the trade-offs that inevitably crop up.
What next for the FSA?
As we look to the next 25 years, the food system faces unprecedented challenges. It’s vital we are agile enough to respond to the impact of global economic shocks, climate change, and technological advances. The FSA will continue to change and evolve, to become more efficient and support growth.
We’re making our market authorisations service more streamlined to support innovation while keeping people safe. We’ve developed proportionate, risk-based processes for new technologies like precision-bred organisms, recognising the potential to develop crops that are more nutritious and resilient to pests and climate change.
Similarly, the work we recently announced on cell-cultivated products and precision fermentation will support growth in sustainable protein production and ultimately enable industry to provide consumers with a wider choice of safe food.
We’re also changing the way food standards inspections are done across local authorities to become more risk-based and intelligence-driven, and we are testing out new approaches for the future. Our recent trial of national-level regulation showed we could make a business-level assessment of overall food safety systems across multiple sites of a single business, harnessing data and AI to help the system better target risk and improve outcomes.
We must never forget our primary responsibility is to protect public health. High food standards don’t happen by chance. They are the culmination of dedicated efforts by people across the entire food system. At the FSA we do our job best when we collaborate with, and work through others, to deliver food that can be trusted.
Susan Jebb is the chair of the Food Standards Agency
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