The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has hired the chair of the government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) and Northern Ireland chief scientific advisor Professor Ian Young as its new scientific boss.
Young will join the organisation on a part-time basis in the new year, and will step down from his other roles whilst remaining a professor at Queen’s University Belfast.
He will take over from Professor Robin May, who left the FSA in September 2025 following his appointment as interim chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Announcing Young’s appointment at its board meeting in Reading this week, FSA chair Professor Susan Jebb said: “He is a clinician and he is a scientist and has done a lot of work with policy-makers.
“I’m really confident he will provide us with the assurance that we need from FSA science.”
She added: “He will also help to ensure the FSA maintains its strong connections with the science community in academia, industry and government.
“Professor Young’s deep expertise and ability to translate research into policy will be invaluable in our mission of food you can trust, and I look forward to working with him.”
Young said: ”There is nothing more important for the health of the public than ensuring the food we eat is safe and authentic. I look forward to working with scientists across the FSA to ensure everything we do is led by good science and the best evidence available.”
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