Food Standards Scotland () is a

non-ministerial government department Non-ministerial government departments (NMGDs) are a type of Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom, United Kingdom government that deal with matters for which direct political over ...

of the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

. It is responsible for

food safety Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, food processing, preparation, and food storage, storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. The occurrence of two or more cases of a simi ...

, food standards,

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemistry, biochemical and physiology, physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into Macronutrient, macro- ...

food labelling The packaging and labeling of food is subject to regulation in most regions/jurisdictions, both to prevent false advertising and to promote food safety. Regulations by type Multi-faceted * Codex Alimentarius (international voluntary standard ...

and

meat Meat is animal Tissue (biology), tissue, often muscle, that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted and farmed other animals for meat since prehistory. The Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of vertebrates, including chickens, sheep, ...

inspection in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Established by the Food (Scotland) Act 2015, Food Standards Scotland has taken over the responsibilities of the UK-wide organisation, the

Food Standards Agency The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is led by a board appoin ...

, in Scotland.

Duties

The key areas of responsibility outlined in the Act include: * making sure food in Scotland remains safe to eat * providing advice around improving diet and nutrition for people in Scotland * providing regulation effectively and proportionately * supporting the food and drink industry in Scotland, including its reputation * supporting food and drink policy in Scotland As well as replacing the duties of the Food Standards Agency in Scotland, Food Standards Scotland has a role in diet and nutrition policy. It also has powers to be able to seize food where labelling rules have not been met. FSS has a consumer protection role: making sure that food is safe to eat, ensuring consumers know what they are eating and improving nutrition. FSS has a vision of a food and drink environment in Scotland that benefits, protects and is trusted by consumers. FSS has a role in providing information and advice on food safety and standards, nutrition and labelling. The information provided is intended to be independent, consistent, evidence-based and consumer-focused. FSS develops policies, provides policy and consumer advice and delivers a robust regulatory and enforcement strategy. FSS is funded mainly by government and charges fees to recover costs for regulatory functions.

Governance

The FSS Board meets in public. Policy recommendations and decisions, and the reasons for them, will be publicly available via the website.

Background

In 2010, the

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

decided to move responsibility for nutrition and food labelling and standards in England from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

and the

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for environmental quality, environmenta ...

(Defra). Following this the

commissioned an independent review to assess the feasibility of establishing a stand-alone Scottish food standards body. The review was led by Professor Jim Scudamore and reported in 2012.

Transition

Having been established by legislation in January 2015, Food Standards Scotland was launched on 1 April 2015. In advance of the legislation being finalised the FSA in Scotland moved their office to The Pilgrim House, in the centre of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. In November 2014, it was announced that Ross Finnie would be appointed as the Chair of Food Standards Scotland. Geoff Ogle who had been Acting Director for the Scottish branch of Food Standards Agency since June 2014 became the new organisation's Chief Executive.

Passage of the Bill

Plans to create a new food standards body in Scotland were announced by Ministers in June 2012. A public consultation ran between February and May 2013. The Bill passed Stage 2 on the legislative process in November 2014. The Bill was introduced to

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

on 13 March 2014. The Bill passed Stage 2 of the legislative process on 11 November 2014. In August 2014, support for the new body was given by MSPs on the Health and Sport Committee. It received Royal assent on 13 January 2015.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2015 establishments in Scotland British food and drink organisations Food policy in the United Kingdom Food safety organizations Food safety in the United Kingdom Non-ministerial departments of the Scottish Government Regulators of Scotland