The Food Standards Agency (FSA) and the Food Standards Scotland (FSS) Board have confirmed that significant changes are required to the current licensing processes inherited from the European Union (EU) and which may change as a result of Brexit. agreed. Keep up with the pace of innovation in the food industry.
The FSA has revealed potential plans to improve the current system in 2023 to give consumers faster access to a wider choice of safe and innovative products.
The first of two reforms under discussion is a recertification process at regular 10-year intervals for some products already certified as safe, regardless of whether the evidence on their safety changes. The aim is to eliminate the requirement to pass the
Approximately 22% of the current caseload consists of renewal applications, and this is expected to rise to more than 50% by 2027.
Without reform, these cases will place a significant burden on services, focusing resources on products that have been used safely for many years and, in most cases, have no change in risk. All renewal requests to date have been approved.
The FSA/FSS already has powers to monitor new evidence and take necessary action at any time. This is done through a risk analysis process according to internationally agreed standards. The FSA closely monitors the efforts of other trusted international regulators and uses its surveillance to monitor food incidents globally.
The second reform would remove the requirement for legislation to authorize regulated products. This would allow authorizations to come into force after publication by the FSA/FSS, subject to ministerial approval, and possibly in the form of an official register, rather than being fully regulated by law.
The added need for legislation resulted in delays of three to six months between formal approval of applications and approval. This process also requires significant resources within the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, and across the parliaments and parliaments of England, Wales and Scotland.
Professor Susan Jebb, Chair of the FSA, said: “For the FSA, this will advance the interests of consumers by enabling innovative new products that are assessed to be safe to be brought to market more quickly. It's a huge opportunity.” “This will establish a new way of doing things that will be looked at with real interest by regulators around the world.
“The June board meeting will provide details on next steps, including how the FSA will further leverage the input of other regulators when assessing risk and outline a potential long-term structure for regulated products and services. We look forward to seeing the proposals made. These are exciting times for the FSA and a real opportunity for us to make a difference.”
These proposals are a first step towards further reform and modernization of regulated product services, with further plans expected to be submitted to the FSA and FSS Boards in June 2024.
Interested parties are encouraged to use the authority's online form for consultation.
