The Food Standards Agency

The Food Standards Agency in the United Kingdom was established on April 1st 2000. It functions to protect public health from risks which may arise in connection with the consumption of food and to protect the interest of the consumers in relation to food.

The core values of the Agency are to:

• Put the consumer first
• Be open and accessible
• Be an independent voice

The purpose of the Agency is to:

• Provide advice and information to the public and government on food safety throughout the food chain, nutrition and diet
• Protect consumers through useful enforcement and monitoring
• Support consumer choice by promoting accurate and meaningful labelling

The Agency is responsible for:

• Food safety, contaminants, nutrition, additives and labelling
• Local authority enforcement performance
• Animal feed and veterinary public health
• The Meat Hygiene Service
• Research

One of the activities undertaken by the Food Standards Agency is to provide expert guidance on issues of food safety and compliance with relevant legislation. This is available largely free of charge and is accessible via their website: www.foodstandards.gov.uk