Supermarkets who have failed to implement food hygiene and safety measures in their own stores should not be handed the reins in a massive new safety shake-up bankrolled by The Treasury, frontline food enforcement officers have warned.
The results of a consultation on plans by the Food Standards Agency showed “strong resistance” from local authority inspectors to the idea of using supermarket data as the basis for a new national system of regulation.
However, despite the opposition, the FSA board this week voted to go even further. It called for the safety and hygiene reset to include reform across the whole food sector, backed by new primary legislation that would see the FSA become the national regulator.
In her 2025 autumn budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves allocated funds for the FSA to streamline inspections for large supermarkets, as part of plan to slash red tape and modernise a system plagued by staffing shortages and dwindling local authority budgets.
This week, the FSA board voted through proposals to pursue a “much more ambitious “ shake-up of food safety. It would also see the agency take over many local authority responsibilities, ranging from policing small and medium-sized business to investigating online companies.
It argues that the food safety regime is no longer fit for purpose, with the old high street model having been replaced by new ways of shopping and hopelessly underfunded local inspectorates unable to cope.
The FSA plans also include proposals for a major shake-up of its ‘Scores on the Doors’ Food Hygiene Ratings scheme, which would see supermarket data used to judge the performance of large stores and free up local inspectors to concentrate on smaller so-called “rogue traders”.
FSA chairman Susan Jebb told its board meeting this week that a root and branch shake-up of food safety was needed. This would include a national system of regulation for large businesses but also a complete reset of the national regulatory framework, including who policed business nationally, locally and online, she said.
“The initial ask [from the Treasury] was for the FSA to develop a consistent national approach for the regulation of large food businesses, but we’ve appreciated this is an opportunity to have broader, system-wide reform,” Jebb said.
She said the board would reconvene later this year, with finalised proposals to take to ministers for more funding, as well as primary legislation to change the responsibilities for overseeing food safety in statute.
As previously revealed by The Grocer, supermarkets including Aldi, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose have all taken part in early trials of a new system.
‘Negative review’ of proposals
However, a report to this week’s FSA board admitted that its consultations had revealed a “broadly negative view” of the proposals across local environmental health teams.
They cited the “perceived failure” of previous change programmes by the FSA and cited evidence including lists of successful prosecutions against large supermarkets, which resulted from businesses failing to implement their corporate systems locally.
The report said there was “strong resistance to a remote, data-led model”.
“They perceived a lack of evidence for this approach and were concerned about broader implications across regulatory services such as health and safety visits not being completed if the FSA becomes the national regulator or more acute resourcing challenges if the Primary Authority income model is disrupted,” it added.
However, Jebb denied that the reforms risked prejudicing the quality of food safety and hygiene checks. “We need to be absolutely confident that any changes we make are going to improve and not compromise the situation when it comes to public health.”
Jebb also insisted that the reforms would not see the death of the Food Hygiene Ratings scheme, but instead result in a modernised, more fit for purpose approach.
She also vowed that boots on the ground checks by local authority inspectors would continue whatever the outcome of the proposals, adding: “Some in-person checks are absolutely essential. There are huge benefits of going in to uphold regulations and provide advice and support.”
Fran McCloskey, CEO of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, said: “We recognise the FSA’s ambition to modernise food regulation.
“We want a regulatory system that protects consumers, supports businesses, and maintains public health.
“We welcome the FSA’s stated intention to explore sustainable funding for modernised local authority delivery but are seeking clarity on the question of who would act as the national competent authority. The independence of this role, in our view, is vital for maintaining trust and confidence.”
No comments yet