LONDON: Britain's Food Standards Agency has made a firm
commitment to bring its decision-making process in line with the government’s
sustainability development policy – which means it will have to reconsider some
of its public advice.
It says an agreement was made at its September board meeting to take sustainable development into account in all its activities and policy decisions.
Sustainable development has become a major theme in the food industry, impacting government policies worldwide, as well as food manufacturers and retailers, all the way down to consumers wishing to purchase ecologically-sound products.
FSA acknowledges that, in light of the new approach, it may have to reconsider some of its previous policies and advice.
For instance, it currently advises consumers to eat two portions of fish each week, one of which should be oily.
FSA says when this policy was made, the environmental, wider social and economic sustainability of this advice was not taken into account.
It says: “Taking a sustainability approach involves considering not just the nutrition and safety evidence, but also wider sustainability issues such as fish stocks and the environmental impacts of fishing and fish farming”.
It also cites the perceived health benefits of reducing meat and dairy consumption as an example.
Following a sustainable policy will mean taking into consideration the economic impact of nationwide reduced consumption, as well as possible biodiversity changes resulting from decreased numbers of livestock.
Such considerations, it says, will lead to more cross-government working. With so many factors to be taken into account, any new policy or advice released by the FSA will have to be examined across a range of departments and agencies.
The FSA’s new policy forms part of a UK government-wide strategy on sustainable development “to allow people all over the world to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better life, without compromising the quality of life of future generations”.
These two aims, together with the ‘three pillars’ of sustainable development – economic development, social progress and environmental protection – make up the government’s ‘five principles’ of sustainable development.
Under its new approach, the FSA will make all its decisions according to sustainability “unless there are exceptional reasons for doing otherwise. In these cases the reasons will be clearly communicated and efforts made to reduce negative impacts”.
But the agency makes it clear its role has not changed.
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and its associated agencies will remain responsible for sustainable food production and consumption.
In a draft statement on its new approach, the agency said it will simply “deliver [its] statutory remit, whilst seeking ways to maximise positive impacts in all areas of sustainable development”.
