Scottish Government to create new food safety body

The Scottish government has outlined plans to create a new food safety body, Food Standards Scotland (FSS), as part of the Food (Scotland) Bill.

The key provisions of the bill are to establish FSS to take over over the functions of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Scotland, to allow for the scope to expand beyond the FSA’s remit and to establish new enforcement arrangements.

FSS would carry out the functions currently performed by the FSA, including food safety and standards, feed safety and standards, nutrition, food labelling, meat inspection policy and operational delivery.

FSS’s key aims will be to ensure food in Scotland continues to be safe to eat, advise on ways to improve diet and nutrition, be more efficient and responsive to Scottish circumstances, and be an effective and proportionate regulator.

Additionally, the food safety body will seek to support the Scottish food and drink industry in strengthening its international status for safe, quality food as well as support Scotland’s food and drink policy.

Public health minister Michael Matheson said that Scotland’s new food safety body will be uniquely placed to focus on Scottish priorities and the new bill outlines what the FSS will be expected to achieve.

"While Scottish businesses were not responsible for last year’s horsemeat scandal we have included extra measures in the bill so consumers can be even more assured that targeting fraudulent behaviour throughout the food supply chain remains a high priority for us in the future."

Matheson said that the body will be given specific powers to seize food that does not comply with food standards or labelling regulations.

"We hope the body will be a trusted source of food safety advice to the government, led from within Scotland and with the confidence and ambition to ensure Scottish food continues to be safe and healthy to eat," he added.

In June 2012, Scottish ministers agreed to create a new food body for Scotland, following which a public consultation was held.

After analysing the responses independently, the Scottish government has set out its conclusions in the Scottish Government’s Response to ‘A Healthier Scotland: Consultation on Creating a New Food Body’.