Food Standards Agency
Tuesday 14 October 2008
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The progress made by the Meat Hygiene Service (MHS) to transform into a leaner and more efficient organisation was applauded by the Board of the Food Standards Agency at its meeting today.
The MHS, which is responsible for meat inspection and audits in abattoirs and cutting plants across the country, exceeded all three financial targets set out for it by the FSA in July 2007.
It has already:
The MHS has also introduced new ways of working with a ‘cluster’ working model scheme, to give greater flexibility and support to meat businesses and reduce headcount at the MHS headquarters in York.
Having carefully weighed up the costs, benefits and disadvantages for the next steps in meat regulation, the FSA Board agreed that the alternative option – a pilot of an independent control body to deliver meat inspection services – should not be taken forward at this time.
Food Standards Agency Chair Deirdre Hutton, said: ‘The Board has made an important decision today. Never forgetting that food safety is central to what we do, the Board has given its unequivocal support to the success so far of MHS transformation. The Agency recognises that if it is to move over time to charging full cost, it has a responsibility to ensure that those costs are as efficient as possible.
'We also talked today about the possibility of piloting a Control Body, but the Board felt that the costs of such a pilot body outweigh the benefits at this time.
'Getting the MHS to work with maximum efficiency is a vital stage one, and the MHS needs to maintain this momentum for change. In the longer term, we need to look to Europe to change legislation to provide a truly proportionate risk-based approach to official controls.'
FSA Chief Executive Tim Smith said: ‘I’m delighted by what the MHS has managed to achieve in a relatively short timeframe. What they are looking to do is truly radical and they've made important first steps in achieving this ambition. We mustn’t ever forget that maintaining safe meat remains the FSA’s first priority when it comes to the changes in meat inspection but we need to make sure that the cost of regulation and enforcement to businesses is not greater than it needs to be.'
Background
The Food Standards Agency was set up in the wake of the BSE crisis, at a time when public confidence over food issues, and in particular meat, was at an all-time low.
A crucial part of getting the UK meat industry back on its feet and able to do business around the world again, was ensuring the UK Government had robust and transparent mechanisms for achieving meat safety and providing information to the public.
Meat safety is in part delivered by inspections carried out by the MHS, an executive agency of the Food Standards Agency.
Every day, up and down the country, dedicated MHS staff are working in abattoirs and cutting plants, alongside company staff, to ensure that the food businesses work to EU regulations.
The MHS performs a vital role and employs highly skilled and responsible staff to ensure public safety in the businesses they regulate.
Safe meat is a top priority for the Food Standards Agency. We also need to make sure that the cost of regulation and enforcement to businesses is not greater than it needs to be.
The safety of meat is ultimately the responsibility of food businesses themselves and we believe that the industry should start to pay more of the costs associated with maintaining that safety, alongside the MHS reducing the costs of providing its statutory services.
Over the past seven years, because of the current charging system, industry has received about £190 million of subsidy from the taxpayer. The Agency doesn’t believe it’s the job of Government to support private business in the long-term so it is now time for this period of public support to progressively reduce.
For this reason we are looking to recover more of the costs of MHS inspections through a new system of charging. We’re doing this over time in order to give businesses time to adjust.
On top of these measures, the MHS is changing to make it the leanest and most efficient organisation it can be. It’s reducing costs and staff as well as re-organising the way it operates on the ground.
The FSA has set challenging financial targets for the MHS and has set up an independent advisory body to bring together stakeholders, including industry and consumer groups, to ensure that as many views as possible are taken on board.
The Agency is also working at a European level to try to get a more risk-based approach to the whole area of meat hygiene regulation.
The Agency is serious about getting this right: working in partnership with industry to achieve safe meat in the UK at the best value for the taxpayer.
Download pdf
(pdf 37KB) FSA 08/05/04 - Future Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Premises (Annex 1)Download pdf
(pdf 21KB) FSA 08/05/04 - Future Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Premises (Annex 2)Download pdf
(pdf 43KB) FSA 08/05/04 - Future Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Premises (Annex 3)Download pdf
(pdf 458KB) FSA 08/05/04 - Future Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Premises (Annex 4)Download pdf
(pdf 310KB) FSA 08/05/04 - Future Delivery of Official Controls in Approved Premises (Annex 5)Download pdf
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