THE Department of Health (DoH) has insisted that no decision has been taken yet on the future of the Food Standards Agency (FSA). The Department has issued a brief statement in response to speculation that the agency is to be axed as part of the coalition Government’s radical cost cutting programme. A DoH spokesperson said ‘no decision’ had been taken over the FSA, adding only that all ‘Arms Length Bodies’ will be subject to a review.
It had been reported that Health Secretary Andrew Lansley was due to announce the abolition of the FSA as he unveiled a White Paper on NHS reforms this afternoon. It is understood, however, that there is mention of the FSA in the White Paper. The news agency Reuters has reported that the FSA, chaired by former Farming Minister Lord Rooker, will be subsumed into Defra and the Department of Health.
Ministers’ intention to transfer the agency’s responsibilities for nutrition, diet and public health into the DoH has been known for some time. What has been less clear, however, is whether the FSA will remain as an indepndent body to continue with its regulatory functions, including the Meat Hygiene Service, or whether these will be transferred to Defra.
Today’s reports have already sparked claims the Government has ‘caved in to big business’, following the spat between the FSA and the food industry over ‘traffic light’ food labelling proposals. Labour’s health spokesman Andy Burnham said: “Getting rid of the FSA is the latest in a number of worrying steps that show Andrew Lansley caving in to the food industry. It does raise the question whether the health secretary wants to protect the public health or promote food companies.”
The FSA was created in 2000, partly in response to the BSE crisis and accusations that MAFF’s close relations with the farming industry had compromised its ability to act independently on the potential risks.
