Updated FSA Code of Practice for Local Authorities

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has today published its revised and updated Food Law Code of Practice for England and Northern Ireland.

The updates to the Code include the introduction of a new model for delivering food standards controls. This refers to the checks carried out by local authorities (district councils in Northern Ireland) to ensure that foods produced and sold by businesses are safe, and are what they say they are.

The new measures published today aim to help local authorities to adopt a more risk-based and intelligence-driven approach towards inspection, allowing them to focus more time and resources on the businesses that are deemed to pose the greatest risk to consumers.

Prior to the implementation of these new measures, a pilot scheme had been trialled across seven local authorities in England and Northern Ireland last year. The conclusion to this trial was that this model is far more effective at directing officers towards businesses where they are more likely to find non-compliance.

Katie Pettifer, FSA Director of Strategy and Regulatory Compliance, said;

“’Local authorities are a critical line of defence against inauthentic or adulterated food.

The FSA is very concerned about the decline in local authority resources for food standards work. The number of professional staff working on food standards in local authorities has halved over the last decade or so. It is vital that local authorities have the resources they need to protect consumers.”

David Pickering, Buckinghamshire and Surrey Council (pilot LA) and Chartered Trading Standards Institute Lead Officer for Food Issues commented:

“A combination of changes in the ways food is supplied to consumers and how local authorities approach regulation with reduced resource meant that the code of practice was no longer best suited to support food standards officers.

“I am pleased that this updated code will support Local Authorities in their efforts to target their capacity in the most efficient way to protect consumers and achieve a level playing field for businesses.”

To read the updated FSA Code of Practice click here. For more industry relevant news and updates, click here.