>>agency draws consensus on its willingness to work for change
Clare Cheney, director general, Provision Trade Federation
"I would agree that clarity was needed, particularly in relation to nutrition and health issues. But that is because there is a lot of conflict on whether certain issues are the responsibility of the FSA or the Department of Health. That needs to be clarified by government.
“In dealings we have had with the FSA, we have found it very helpful and balanced. There are areas where we may have had disagreements and I can see that there are some industry groups that wouldn’t agree with the view the FSA expresses.
“My main area of criticism relates to the way it carries out surveillance. It should take any problems with its random sample up with the company concerned rather than name and shame publicly. The example of horse meat in salami caused a lot of adverse publicity - the FSA should have checked with the company concerned first.”
Peter Melchett, policy director, Soil Association
“It’s a mixed picture. To put it in historical context, I remember just how bad MAFF was and the FSA is a huge improvement. There is a degree of openness and a willingness to consult and recognise that science is not the only consideration in deciding what people want to eat.
“There is still a way to go and the FSA was wildly wrong on GM and wasted an outrageous amount of public money and then misrepresented the results. It was laughable. The response to that from environmental and consumer organisations may have shaken the FSA out of its cavalier behaviour.
“On organics, Sir John Krebs has personal views, but I think the FSA now recognises that the wind is blowing in favour of organic. It has not done any useful research on organics yet, but is moving in the right direction. We think the Soil Association and the FSA are natural allies, we are both keen to promote a healthy diet.”
Mike Attenborough, technical director, Meat and Livestock Commission
“The FSA was formed at a very difficult time, in the aftermath of BSE. It has provided a much needed focus and guidance, underpinned by sound science, in the critical area of food safety. While still in its early days some sections of the industry did not find helpful the way in which it publicised some of its work on sheep transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). But the authority has proved itself willing to work with the industry for change - one example of that is the joint work the MLC and the FSA are doing to reduce the incidence of salmonella in pigs. The MLC has seen the authority move towards more consultation with industry and far better communication with it and believes it will prove a great asset to both the food industry and to the consuming public.”
Martin Paterson, deputy director general, Food and Drink Federation
"FDF believes that the FSA is, on balance, a good thing. The FSA's food safety policies have been overwhelmingly based on sound science and an understanding of the realities of the food chain. However, this sound basis is less apparent as the agency moves its focus to more subjective areas like nutrition and marketing.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that part of the difficulty is the lack of clarity - in areas outside of food safety - as to what the agency is responsible for.
“For example, one week we have the agency issuing consultations on marketing food to children, the next week this is followed by Tessa Jowell doing her own thing on the same subject. While this may not be the agency's fault, it makes it very difficult for the industry to work as co-operatively as it would like - often we do not know on which government door to knock."
Richard Ali, food policy director, British Retail Consortium “Food retailers are supporters of the Food Standards Agency and believe it has a good record on food safety issues, where its policies are underpinned by sound scientific evidence. The FSA has made great strides to engage with the sector. The establishment of the Industry Forum is encouraging, as is the fact it is listening to the sector on issues such as the pragmatic and efficient implementation of the last set of meat labelling regulations.
“We believe that by working with industry the FSA can improve its policy making to the ultimate benefit of all consumers.”
Clare Cheney, director general, Provision Trade Federation
"I would agree that clarity was needed, particularly in relation to nutrition and health issues. But that is because there is a lot of conflict on whether certain issues are the responsibility of the FSA or the Department of Health. That needs to be clarified by government.
“In dealings we have had with the FSA, we have found it very helpful and balanced. There are areas where we may have had disagreements and I can see that there are some industry groups that wouldn’t agree with the view the FSA expresses.
“My main area of criticism relates to the way it carries out surveillance. It should take any problems with its random sample up with the company concerned rather than name and shame publicly. The example of horse meat in salami caused a lot of adverse publicity - the FSA should have checked with the company concerned first.”
Peter Melchett, policy director, Soil Association
“It’s a mixed picture. To put it in historical context, I remember just how bad MAFF was and the FSA is a huge improvement. There is a degree of openness and a willingness to consult and recognise that science is not the only consideration in deciding what people want to eat.
“There is still a way to go and the FSA was wildly wrong on GM and wasted an outrageous amount of public money and then misrepresented the results. It was laughable. The response to that from environmental and consumer organisations may have shaken the FSA out of its cavalier behaviour.
“On organics, Sir John Krebs has personal views, but I think the FSA now recognises that the wind is blowing in favour of organic. It has not done any useful research on organics yet, but is moving in the right direction. We think the Soil Association and the FSA are natural allies, we are both keen to promote a healthy diet.”
Mike Attenborough, technical director, Meat and Livestock Commission
“The FSA was formed at a very difficult time, in the aftermath of BSE. It has provided a much needed focus and guidance, underpinned by sound science, in the critical area of food safety. While still in its early days some sections of the industry did not find helpful the way in which it publicised some of its work on sheep transmissable spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). But the authority has proved itself willing to work with the industry for change - one example of that is the joint work the MLC and the FSA are doing to reduce the incidence of salmonella in pigs. The MLC has seen the authority move towards more consultation with industry and far better communication with it and believes it will prove a great asset to both the food industry and to the consuming public.”
Martin Paterson, deputy director general, Food and Drink Federation
"FDF believes that the FSA is, on balance, a good thing. The FSA's food safety policies have been overwhelmingly based on sound science and an understanding of the realities of the food chain. However, this sound basis is less apparent as the agency moves its focus to more subjective areas like nutrition and marketing.
“It is becoming increasingly apparent that part of the difficulty is the lack of clarity - in areas outside of food safety - as to what the agency is responsible for.
“For example, one week we have the agency issuing consultations on marketing food to children, the next week this is followed by Tessa Jowell doing her own thing on the same subject. While this may not be the agency's fault, it makes it very difficult for the industry to work as co-operatively as it would like - often we do not know on which government door to knock."
Richard Ali, food policy director, British Retail Consortium “Food retailers are supporters of the Food Standards Agency and believe it has a good record on food safety issues, where its policies are underpinned by sound scientific evidence. The FSA has made great strides to engage with the sector. The establishment of the Industry Forum is encouraging, as is the fact it is listening to the sector on issues such as the pragmatic and efficient implementation of the last set of meat labelling regulations.
“We believe that by working with industry the FSA can improve its policy making to the ultimate benefit of all consumers.”
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