Episode 53: A conversation with the FSA Part 1

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In the latest episode of Food To Go, New Food’s Assistant Editor Grace Galler sits down with Emily Miles, Chief Executive of the Food Standards Agency (FSA) to discuss the importance of international cooperation when it comes to keeping food systems as safe as they can be.

Listen to hear Emily discuss the critical work the FSA is doing to ensure food safety, recount her recent trip to Brussels, and share insights from speaking with other regulatory bodies around the world.

In the first part of this series, Emily shares the FSA’s plans to maintain strong relationships post-Brexit and addresses issues like food safety inspections, international cooperation, and regulatory frameworks.

Join us for an engaging conversation that dives into the complexities of food safety and regulation. Make sure to subscribe to stay updated on future episodes where we tackle topics like food fraud and allergy safety.

The FSA Food Law Code of Practice: Explained

Grace Galler (GG): A concern that has been on many food industry minds is the lack of veterinarians in the UK. Following your recent Brussels visit, is there any insight you can offer?

Emily Miles (EM): I am actually quite worried about vets and whether we’ve got enough to do the work that’s required.

I don’t think I can completely put you at ease, but if you think about what’s happened in the last three or four years with Brexit there’s been an increase of demand on vets because of all the export health certificates that now need to be signed off for exporting products of animal origin to the EU. There’s also been a pet boom because of the pandemic. There’s more demand on vets in the UK than there was.

If you look at the registrations of vets with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons over the last few years, they’ve fallen and they’re finding from their research that vets are often leaving the profession just within a few years of having trained. I think the domestic vet situation is quite challenging and at the FSA we rely enormously on vets.

Keep an eye out for the next part of this podcast mini-series in the coming weeks!