President Meets Chair of FSA Board

The President of the Association, Alan Richards, met Dame Deirdre Hutton, Chair of the FSA Board to discuss the national crisis currently facing provision of public analyst services in the UK. West Yorkshire Joint Services Laboratory was the venue for the meeting and it was hosted by Dr Duncan Campbell, Public Analyst and Mr Graham Hebblethwaite, Chief of Trading Standards.

Dame Deirdre listened with great interest about the shortage of qualified Public Analysts and the reducing income from food sample testing. In their own report this year the FSA Board heard that sampling had dropped by nearly 15% between 2003 and 2007. Alan explained the difficulties in maintaining this public service when there was little new investment available in many areas of the UK to maintain the laboratory testing and advice services. Local Authorities are responsible for appointing Public Analysts across the UK and provide samples for testing through food enforcement officers. The FSA have a responsibility to ensure there are sufficient scientific resources available to carry out this function. It seems this split responsibility is causing some problems with accountability.

The total spend by local authorities on food analysis has been estimated at only £6m per annum. This is a totally insignificant amount compared to the £80bn spent on food in the UK. Only by providing a sustainable source of support can this public laboratory service protect consumers from food fraud and adulteration.

With global food prices rising more rapidly than ever and fraud being more and more difficult to detect there must be great temptation for businesses to try and survive by cutting corners on quality and safety. We must be vigilant and have the resources available to combat this when its needed. Alan said "I am convinced it will be needed, its just a matter of time. I only hope that we have a public analyst service that can help in the future"

After the meeting Dame Deirdre sent Alan a letter confirming the details of the meeting and suggesting possible ways forward.