Committee
Health, Social Care and Sport Committee 10 June 2025
10 Jun 2025 · S6 · Health, Social Care and Sport Committee
Item of business
Food Standards Scotland
Heather Kelman
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I will be the first to admit that it has been a difficult few years in that we had Brexit and Covid in that five-year period. We have tried to stay very focused on our main function.
When we have done a review of the priorities that we can achieve, we have gone back to our original functions as a regulator, a public health body and a representative of consumer interest, and I believe that we have done very well in most of those areas. For example, our food crime unit is becoming an internationally recognised expert in the area of food crime and intelligence gathering on food crime.
We are about to launch our SAFER—Scottish authority food enforcement re-build—programme, which will involve looking at digitalisation and an evidence-based approach. That will involve modernising the system to ensure that, in the future, we can protect the public with high-quality standards by enabling local authorities to carry out fewer in-person inspections but to gather more intelligence on which to base their visits and enforce food law. We have done a lot of preparatory work for that.
Gillian, would you like to talk about some of the achievements on the nutrition side?
In the same item of business
The Convener
SNP
Welcome back. The next item on our agenda is an evidence session with representatives of Food Standards Scotland. I welcome to the committee Heather Kelman, ...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
Good morning. I declare an interest as a practising NHS GP. I am concerned about the biosecurity of our food, given that only 5 per cent of live animal impo...
Heather Kelman (Food Standards Scotland)
I assure you that we take biosecurity seriously and work closely with our chief veterinarian and others on that front. Yesterday, I participated in a four-na...
Ian McWatt (Food Standards Scotland)
I will take your last question first. We absolutely agree that food biosecurity matters. Food Standards Scotland is what we call the central competent author...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
My final question is about food security. Given the ever-changing landscape in geopolitics, it is important that we secure our own food and resources in Scot...
Heather Kelman
My first point is that farmers are outwith our function—we deal with the food end. However, that does not prevent us from meeting regularly with NFU Scotland...
Sandesh Gulhane
Con
I accept that you deal with the food end, but, obviously, food comes from somewhere—that is, from farms. That is what I had in mind. I was thinking about the...
Heather Kelman
That is why we will meet NFU Scotland’s newly appointed head of policy on the supply chain next week to talk through that issue. We take over at the farm gat...
Ian McWatt
The complexity of our food supply chain has crystallised, particularly since Brexit and Covid. I am sure that committee members will be aware that a number o...
Dr Gillian Purdon (Food Standards Scotland)
I would just highlight that the forthcoming good food nation plan will give us an opportunity to consider the food system as a whole and to develop more of a...
Heather Kelman
One more thing—our food crime and incidents unit will provide information to farmers on crime that might affect the food chain and how to protect themselves ...
Emma Harper
SNP
Good morning. I have a quick question. Did Brexit make sanitary and phytosanitary checks more complicated—worse, basically—for companies that export food fro...
Heather Kelman
I will let Ian take that question, as he is the expert on that area.
Ian McWatt
It is a good question. Heather mentioned our food crime unit. We do not have any direct evidence that things have definitely got worse from a food fraud pers...
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I invite our witnesses to reflect on where they would like Food Standards Scotland to be in 2035, when it will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Heather Kelman
I believe that we have had a very good first 10 years and that, as an organisation, we have matured well. As part of the work on our next strategy, we want t...
Paul Sweeney
Lab
Does anyone else have any other thoughts?
The Convener
SNP
We are straying into the questions that David Torrance is about to ask.
Paul Sweeney
Lab
I apologise.
David Torrance
SNP
Good morning. How would you assess the performance of Food Standards Scotland to date in relation to each of the five priority outcomes that were set in the ...
Heather Kelman
I will be the first to admit that it has been a difficult few years in that we had Brexit and Covid in that five-year period. We have tried to stay very focu...
Dr Purdon
Yes, I would be happy to do that. A key thing for us is that our surveillance capability has improved significantly over that time. I can give you a couple o...
Ian McWatt
To add to the commentary on how well you think that we have done, with the resource that we have been provided with, we are punching above our weight. We are...
David Torrance
SNP
Looking to the future, what changes will be made in the strategy for 2026 to 2031? What consultation will take place with stakeholders to inform those changes?
Heather Kelman
That is a very timely question, because we will discuss that issue at next week’s board meeting. The public consultation for our new strategy will take place...
David Torrance
SNP
Thank you. I have no further questions. 11:00
Patrick Harvie
Green
Good morning to the witnesses. Heather Kelman was just talking about the issues that will be included in the consultation on the development of the new strat...
Heather Kelman
Thank you, that is a good question. In relation to the work that the board has looked at, there is little impact we could have internally within FSS, as we a...
Dr Purdon
There are a couple of points to highlight. We are undergoing a review of the Scottish dietary goals, and part of the review is about looking at the data supp...
Patrick Harvie
Green
I appreciate that but, in short, will the consultation on the 2026 to 2031 strategy consider how to implement the recommendations from the CCC?