Food Standards Agency

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The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by an appointed board that is intended to act in the public interest. Its headquarters are in London with national offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Meat Hygiene Service is a branch of the Food Standards Agency.

It was created in 2000 based on a report by Professor James [1], issued after a number of high-profile outbreaks and deaths from foodborne illness. It was felt that it was inappropriate to have one government department, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, responsible for both the health of the farming and food processing industries and also for food safety.

Sir John Krebs was the first Chairman of the British Food Standards Agency. He resigned in 2005.

In February 2005, the agency announced the discovery of the dye Sudan I in Worcester sauce, prompting a mass recall of over 400 products that used the sauce as a flavouring. The Agency is advised by the ACMSF (Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food).

On 31 March 2006, it published its "Survey of benzene levels in soft drinks", which tested 150 products and found that four contained benzene levels above the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water. The Agency asked for these to be removed from sale.

The Food Standards Agency also imposed restrictions on the sheep trade because of the consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl catastrophe [2].

The FSA are pushing for stricter fast food advertising in the UK.<ref>Ban all junk food ads before 9pm, says watchdog </ref> In June 2002, and re-released in June 2006, the FSA conducts an advertising campaign on British television, highlighting the danger of food poisoning caused by barbecues. The advert, intended to shock viewers, shows sausages sizzling on a barbecue, looking to the viewer as if they are cooked. However, when a pair of tongs pick up one of these sausages, it falls apart, and reveals pink, uncooked meat in the middle. To emphasize the risk of diarrhoea and vomiting caused by food poisoning, the song "When will I see you again" by Three Degrees is played in the background. (source:- FSA website