Hansard

I would like to update Parliament on the specific action that the Government is taking to reinforce and improve the food safety and standards regime in Scotland, and on the horsemeat scandal.

Members will be aware that work is on-going in relation to the horsemeat scandal, which has affected at least 14 European Union member states and has had an impact here in Scotland. Following the discovery of horse DNA in a frozen burger that was supplied to Cumbernauld high school, local authorities have been advised to hold the use of all frozen beef products pending further investigation.

Mr Russell and Mr Lochhead are meeting the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities next week to discuss how we can work together on the standards and processes that are in place for school meals and to discuss ways in which we can drive up standards and quality even further. In the meantime, by close of play today, local authorities will have completed all but one of the inspections of premises that manufacture processed meat products in Scotland, with no evidence to date of horsemeat food fraud occurring.

Turning to the reasons for my statement, the scandal has made it clear that a single independent public body should have clear responsibility for all aspects of food safety and standards. In 2010, the United Kingdom Government moved responsibility for food labelling policy in England from the Food Standards Agency to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It also moved responsibility for nutrition to the Department of Health. Although the Food Standards Agency is a shared public body, those changes took place without consultation with the devolved Administrations. As a result, three different bodies were dealing with food labelling in England. The confusion was highlighted by Westminster’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee in its criticism of the decision to split responsibility for food.

The changes had significant consequences for Scotland. The staff in the Food Standards Agency headquarters who were responsible for labelling and nutrition were removed from the FSA and taken into Whitehall departments that are responsible for England only. At a stroke, the FSA lost much of its capacity to support us on labelling and nutrition policy. Given the negative impact that that would have on Scotland, I asked Professor Jim Scudamore, the former Scottish and UK chief veterinary officer, to set up an expert panel to consider how the Food Standards Agency should operate in Scotland, in light of the changes in Westminster.

Last year, Professor Scudamore recommended that nutrition, labelling and food safety should be considered together, and that advice should be focused on protecting consumers and should be evidence based, transparent and independent. He also recommended that we should create a new stand-alone food body here in Scotland.

We accepted all the recommendations, and I announced in June last year that we would create a new food body. Our vision for Scotland’s new food body is that its primary focus will be consumer protection. It will make sure that food in Scotland is safe to eat and it will improve the diet and nutrition of people in Scotland. The new body will be independent, open and transparent and will base its advice on the best available science and evidence.

There is much at stake, as the food that we eat is vital to ensuring that we live longer and healthier lives. Bad eating habits are the second major cause of ill-health in Scotland after smoking. Scotland has one of the highest levels of obesity in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and obesity increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

We will give the new body the ability to be more responsive to Scottish needs. The new food body will be the basis of decisive action to improve diet and nutrition—just as we are making progress on reducing smoking and drinking.

The new body will carry out the devolved functions that are currently delivered by the UK-wide Food Standards Agency: food safety and standards; feed safety and standards; nutrition; food labelling; and meat inspection policy and operational delivery.

Most of us think about food safety only when there is a problem. We rightly expect the food that we eat to be safe. However, it is estimated that 124,000 consumers contract food-borne diseases each year. Around 2,300 people will be hospitalised and around 43 will die. We can do better, and I expect the new food body to identify ways in which we can be more effective in tackling food-borne diseases in future.

The new body will take a risk-based approach, using the best intelligence and evidence, to ensure that inspections are as well targeted as possible, within the European framework. That will, in turn, support the Scottish food and drink industry in growing its strong international reputation for safe, quality food.

As the horsemeat scandal has shown, food supply chains cover the world. The new food body will work closely with the FSA, other European food safety bodies and the European Food Safety Authority on many issues, such as dealing with food incidents, European developments and collaboration on science and research.

This afternoon we are publishing a consultation on the roles, responsibilities and functions of the new food safety body. As part of the development of the consultation, the Government carefully considered the implications of the horsemeat scandal. The consultation will run for 12 weeks and presents an opportunity for consumers as well as industry to tell us what they think that the new food body should do. The new body will take on existing Food Standards Agency functions, but we are interested in hearing views on whether it should have a broader role and new responsibilities. We also seek views on how the new body’s independence from Government and the food industry can be assured. I am open to creative and innovative ideas about all those issues.

The consultation will give us a solid basis on which to build to ensure better food safety and standards in future. However, creating a new body and passing legislation take time, and people in Scotland rightly want improvements now. Therefore, today I am announcing that I have asked Professor Scudamore to lead a short-life expert group to consider the lessons that have been learned from the recent horsemeat scandal. The interests that are covered by the membership of the group will be consumer protection, the meat industry, food retail and enforcement. I have asked Professor Scudamore to recommend improvements in the food safety and standards regime that can be made quickly, ahead of the creation of the new body, and I have asked for recommendations before the summer recess.

The short-life expert group will focus on the regulation of food, but there are broader issues to consider. Richard Lochhead has asked Ray Jones, the chairman of Scotland Food and Drink, to lead a food expert group. The group’s remit will be to explore what is required to extend to the whole Scottish meat supply chain the excellent principles of traceability, assurance and provenance that are associated with primary red meat production. The food expert group will also provide recommendations before the summer recess.

We have the opportunity to learn from the current situation. The short-life expert group that I am announcing today will identify lessons from the horsemeat scandal, so that we can improve our food safety and standards regime. We want our new food body to be as effective as possible. Through the consultation, we will ensure that in designing the new body we draw on the best ideas and expertise.

Given the importance of food safety and the value of the Scottish food industry to our economy, we must ensure that we have robust regulatory regimes for food in Scotland. Eating safe, healthy food will help people in Scotland to live longer and healthier lives.