Members – Food Standards Agency x6

• To ensure the FSA discharges its statutory duties in line with the requirement to protect public health and consumer interests in relation to food.

• To set and to reinforce the FSA’s core values through the development and monitoring of strategic objectives, plans, and policies.

• To represent the FSA and its values in communications with key stakeholders.

• To monitor the performance of the Executive in meeting agreed objectives and targets, including: the delivery of services; continuous improvement; financial performance, and risk management.

• To assist with the appointment of the Chief Executive.

• To play an effective part in Board meetings, discussions and decisions, and work towards shared success.

• To participate as a member or Chair of one or more of the Board Committees: Business, and Audit and Risk Assurance.

• To act in the public interest at all times, not as a representative of the interests of any particular sector, and without regard to any personal interests.

• To give approximately 20 days per annum to the FSA and to travel to meetings across the country, for which expenses are payable. In addition, Board members are expected to read widely to develop personal skill and ensure effectiveness in the role.

The FSA was established by the Food Standards Act 1999, in the wake of the BSE crisis, as a non-Ministerial Government Department and a regulator; created to be at arm’s length from Government and independent of sectoral interests. Our primary duty, set out in statute, is to protect public health and otherwise protect the interests of consumers in relation to food and feed.

Our statutory functions include developing, or assisting in the development of, policies connected to these areas, carrying out and commissioning research, setting the standards for and monitoring performance of enforcement authorities, and providing advice to the public. So, as well as being a regulator, we act as a policymaker, generate evidence and watchdog for the food system. Our five-year strategy sets out our mission is food you can trust, by which we mean food that is safe, food that is what it says it is and food that is healthier and more sustainable.

We are concerned with the safety of food right along the food supply chain, from when it is produced, to when it is served on the plate. As the national authority responsible for food safety, we set the regulations that food businesses are obliged to follow, and work with delivery partners across England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make sure those regulations are enforced.

We want the public to have trust in the food they eat, and that is why we work in an open and transparent way, making sure that consumer health and interests are at the heart of everything we do. Our Chief Scientific Adviser is critical in this, ensuring that we are making evidence-based decisions driven by sound, unbiased and relevant science.

Food and feed policy is a devolved matter. The FSA is accountable to Ministers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and we work closely with Food Standards Scotland (FSS). We are governed by an independent Board appointed by Ministers in the countries we serve. We work to provide a robust and coherent regulatory regime, to make sure that consumers across the UK can have confidence that the highest level of food standards are being set and maintained. We have a budget from the HM Treasury and Devolved Administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland of around £140 million.  To help achieve this aim, the department has offices in London, Cardiff, Belfast, and York and employs almost 1,400 staff.

We not only work with a range of other government partners, which includes providing advice to Ministers across three governments, but also actively engage internationally. We make sure that we play an important role in supranational standard setting and sharing best practice with other national competent authorities.

There are nearly 600,000 food businesses in the UK. They have statutory duties to make sure the food they sell is safe and is what it says it is. The FSA, along with FSS in Scotland, and local authorities are the primary regulators who make sure that businesses are complying with these rules, and who deliver “official controls” set out in law, such as regular inspection.

The FSA directly inspects a minority of riskier food businesses (for example meat plants and abattoirs) but for most of the food industry it is local authorities who deliver these controls. Local authority environmental health and trading standards officers invest time and effort working with local businesses to make sure the food they sell is safe and authentic. For small businesses in particular, a food hygiene inspection can be a vital source of guidance and advice about how to improve food safety practices.

The FSA oversees this system of controls, monitors performance and acts to mitigate risk in the system, for example by working with local authorities to manage thousands of food incidents every year.

As the central authority for food and feed safety in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, we face a large range of complex and time-dependent challenges. Food and Drink is the UK’s biggest manufacturing sector and the Agri-food sector as a whole contributed £146.7bn to national Gross Value Added in 2022.

A major challenge facing the Agri-food sector is an increased potential for illegal and illicit activity through food crime due to the rapidly changing regulatory landscape. The FSA is fully committed to ensuring the authenticity and provenance of food right along the supply chain, through the work of the National Food Crime Unit.

Furthermore, the national and global context in which the FSA operates is changing at great speed, and the FSA needs to continue to evolve to meet changing public demands. With dynamic global trade bringing greater choice to UK consumers than ever before, the advent of new purchasing practices and changing dietary preferences, and the need for holistic approaches to health, wellbeing, and the environment, the FSA must keep pace with societal expectations. In doing so, the FSA must take advantage of new technologies and data-driven processes to support a risk-based approach to both standard setting and enforcement of thousands of businesses.

Further information about the FSA’s work can be found on our website at:

Homepage | Food Standards Agency

• Strong decision-making skills, able to assess complex evidence and explain the basis for a decision.
• Experience of working with, or on behalf of the public and an ability to represent consumer interests.
• Strong strategic thinking and experience, able to help shape the FSA’s strategic direction.
• Ability to achieve significant change and to operate across complex networks.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills, including championing diversity and able to confidently deal with difficult situations sensitively.

In order to achieve a balanced Board, new members will ideally be able to bring skills and experience in one or more of the following areas:

• Experience in public (or environmental) health in relation to food
• Operational experience of Local Government
• Experience in the food sector (primary production, manufacture, supply chain, retail – including small and medium-sized enterprises)
• Expertise in safety and standards in the food industry
• Veterinary experience
• Experience in corporate or commercial financial strategy
• Experience in regulatory compliance, audit and assurance
• Criminal investigative skills
• Experience in (or understanding of) how a national regulator works