Meeting of the Parliament 09 December 2014
I thank my fellow Health and Sport Committee members for making this such an enjoyable and interesting piece of legislation to work on.
After what I might describe as the demise of the FSA in England and its reduction to a shell of its former self, this Parliament has the opportunity to put in place an organisation and regime in which the public and people at all levels of the food industry can have trust, which is incredibly important given the problems that we have had in past years. The recommendations in the Scudamore report have been accepted, and a single body, with clear responsibility for all aspects of food safety and standards, can be developed.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the committee’s work has been learning about the body’s ability to take on many of the problems that we face in this country. We know that people have had poor diets for a number of years. Dr Simpson made a number of good and valid points about matters that food standards Scotland will have to consider.
I welcome the minister’s announcement on the size of the FSS board, which is good news. The board will be the right size and will be led by the right person. I look forward to seeing the FSS develop to become the force in the industry that we really need. Trust is everything. Our food and drinks industry is vital to our country’s economy and we cannot see it go downhill because of a lack of legislation, food fraud and, frankly, dangerous behaviour in relation to infectious disease and the like.
Aside from all that, probably the most informative visit that the committee made was our visit to Aberdeen. As members said, we met the management at Joseph Robertson, who gave us an insight into the business aspects of the industry. The management team had serious concerns about labelling, our ability to maintain research funding and the like—at that point, prior to the referendum, some political points were being made about that—and how the bill would impact on transport, food identification and so on, which is where problems have arisen.
We considered the horsemeat scandal and food fraud, which must be fought. The FSS cannot deal with such issues just in this country; we must be international in outlook. As we were told, bugs do not operate within borders—or something along those lines. An international approach is critical if our food industry is to maintain its position at the top of the tree for people who regard it from outside.
We are a bit short of time, so I will just say that I am delighted that the bill will help local authority enforcement officers, who have had a tough job. Some of the fines that were handed out in the past did not come close to the profits that were being made. Anything that helps local authority enforcement officers is to be welcomed.
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