FSA Chair Susan Jebb to stand down

Professor Susan Jebb is stepping down from her role as Chair of the Food Standards Agency at the end of June after three years in office.

Appointed in June 2021, Jebb was a key contributor to the Tackling Obesity Report published in 2007 and an advisor on the National Food Strategy. She will step down officially on 30 June 2024.

“It has been a huge privilege to be the Chair of a fantastic organisation, doing such important work to uphold public health. I am proud of the work the Board has done to enable the FSA to move beyond the immediate consequences of EU Exit and settle into an organisation focused on the most pressing challenges the UK food system faces today, including initiating a series of important reforms,” said Jebb.

“There is still much I want to achieve over the next four months. Our reform programme is urgently needed to enable the FSA to support businesses to do the right thing, deliver efficiencies for the taxpayer and, crucially, to uphold the high food standards we all value.

“Alongside my role as FSA Chair, I have continued to lead a large research team at the University of Oxford, working to develop the evidence base for interventions to prevent and treat obesity and, looking ahead, I am keen to be able to give that my full attention.”

The Chair of the FSA is a position appointed by the UK Government. A selection process is said to be starting “shortly” by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with the appointment being made by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and counterparts in Wales and Northern Ireland.