CIEH argues for local food safety services

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has continued to make a robust case for local food safety services rather than a central delivery model following an Open Board meeting of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) earlier this week.

 In a briefing paper presented to the FSA the CIEH says that while it recognises that there are valid reasons for instituting a review given the current budgetary constraints on local government and the government’s drive to reduce the burden of regulation on business, it sees no valid reason for a radical overhaul of the current system.

 At the end of last year the FSA Chief Executive announced the FSA’s intention to institute a UK-wide review of Food Safety Official Controls delivery. In a subsequent report he outlined the FSA’s core principles for the delivery of official controls in the UK and explained that he believes the complexity of the current system makes it extremely difficult to achieve these principles.

 The review has been prompted in part by the request by the Welsh First Minister for a review into food safety controls in Wales, partly by views expressed in Lord Young’s review of Health and Safety and also by a view held in the EU that the UK’s approach to control is a concern.

 The report proposed that a more centralist approach, based on the model of the Meat Hygiene Service (now merged as part of the FSA), with each UK country having a separate centralised food safety control agency might be a better approach.

Commenting, David Kidney, CIEH Head of Policy, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the CIEH will be part of the Review Steering Group team, where we will be able to play a central role in determining the future of food safety enforcement in England.

“We will be representing the views of the environmental health profession, who have played such a valuable role in enforcing food safety, protecting consumers and supporting businesses.”

The CIEH briefing paper examines a number of issues such as coherency and consistency, accountability, efficiency and public confidence.

A copy of the full briefing paper, entitled The CIEH’s perspective on the future of food safety delivery in the UK, can be found on the CIEH website.