How Food Standards Scotland is supporting healthy eating and keeping us safe through the food chain

Whether you are out for dinner or eating at home, the impact of Food Standards Scotland’s (FSS) work is felt by people across the country each and every day.

From food production to beyond the checkout: Helping Scottish firms and consumers manage food safety and healthy eating

With an ever-evolving food and health landscape, FSS’s varied remit aims to facilitate a safe, healthy and sustainable food environment that benefits and protects the health and well-being of everyone in Scotland.

So, what does the nation’s public food body do for you?

Well, Scotland is faced with a significant burden of diet-related disease but continues to have a diet that’s too high in calories, fats, sugar and salt, and too low in fibre, fruit and vegetables.

Improving Scotland’s diet won’t happen overnight, and it is important that consumers have access to a wide range of food and drinks that can help support a healthy balanced diet. An example of how FSS is working with industry to do this is as a Reformul8 partner of the Food and Drink Federation Scotland’s Reformulation for Health programme.

Reformulation is one of the most effective ways the food industry can help improve our diet. It involves making changes to an existing product or recipe to improve its nutritional content – and food businesses right across the supply chain are taking bold steps to support this.

Serving you in food safety

Some think that food safety begins at the supermarket or restaurant but, in reality, it starts well before this point and continues beyond the checkout.

Whether you’re eating out or buying ingredients to make at home, FSS works closely with local authorities across the entire food chain, to help Scottish businesses and consumers manage food safety risks.

Why is this important? Well, foodborne illness has a significant impact on public health. Campylobacter is the most common cause, with around 6,500 cases reported in Scotland each year.

As campylobacter infection is under-reported, it is estimated that approximately 54,000 people in our population are affected. FSS’s work with Public Health Scotland has shown that 14% of campylobacter cases in Scotland require admission to hospital, with those in older age groups and more deprived areas of Scotland being at increased risk of severe illness.

Advances in data science have transformed our methods for identifying the sources and transmission routes for foodborne illness through the arrival of Whole Genome Sequencing (WGS). We have learned from research and outbreak investigations that our ability to manage and interpret the complex data sets, which are generated by genomic sequencing, will become increasingly important in understanding how to reduce foodborne illness in the future.

For more information

For more information on the work of Food Standards Scotland visit www.foodstandards.gov.scot