Health Secretary's plan to scrap Food Standards Agency stalled

14th July 2010, 2:18pm

The Department of Health has reported that no decision has been made on the future of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), after media reports claimed health secretary Andrew Lansley planned to scrap the body.

Reports claimed Lansley would announce his plan to abolish the FSA in a white paper as part of the government's drive to reform the NHS and reduce the number of quangos but a spokeperson from the FSA has confirmed that the situation remains "under review".

It has also been reported that Lansley planned to hand over the responsibilities of the FSA, which include nutrition, diet and public health plus regulatory aspects such as safety and hygiene, to The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

But the plans have been slammed by health groups who feel it would show the government up as "caving in to big business" according to one report.

The FSA, which is a non-ministerial government department that was set up in 2000 and employs 2,000 staff working under an annual budget of £135m, is responsible for issues including food labeling and the 'Scores on the Doors' food hygiene scheme among catering businesses.

The organisation has battled with the food industry over issues including the introduction of colour-coded "traffic light" warnings for groceries, snacks and TV dinners. In doing so the FSA has received support for its work from health groups including the British Medical Association, British Dietetic Association and British Heart Foundation.

Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum said: "It (the FSA) had a hugely important role in improving the quality of foodstuffs in Britain and it was vital to have at the centre of government a body that championed healthy food. This appears just the old Conservative party being the political wing of business."

Related Articles:

• 24 Sep 2010 - School Food Trust among the 177 quangos 'facing axe'
• 20 Jul 2010 - The Food Standards Agency is here to stay
• 08 Jul 2010 - Family and friends have more influence on diet than the government, online healthy living survey reveals
• 29 Mar 2010 - FSA recommends that food manufacturers reduce saturated fat
• 23 Mar 2010 - FSA welcomes healthy pub progress
• 05 Mar 2010 - FSA publishes research on attitudes to new food technologies

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