Public protection must always be the most important criterion in enforcement, the CIEH has urged the Government.
In a response to a Food Standards Agency Strategy 2010 to 2015 consultation, the CIEH says it would be extremely concerned if pressure from better regulation initiatives discouraged enforcers from taking formal action in the most severe cases.
The CIEH states: “Adequate public protection must always be the most important criterion in enforcement decision making”.
Risk-based enforcement is supported by the CIEH, but it is difficult to strike a balance between the economic success of food businesses and protecting consumers, the consultation response says.
The CIEH welcomes the FSA focus on improving food safety as the incidence of food-borne disease is increasing. But it says it is strange that Listeria does not feature in the strategy.
The response states: ‘The analysis shows that the incidence is increasing, that there is a high mortality among the elderly and that this group will rapidly increase in size, due to changing demographics. As such Listeria would appear to merit specific inclusion within the strategy’.
The response, written by Principal Policy Officer Jenny Morris, also urges ministers to give councils the responsibility to provide healthy eating advice.
Jenny writes: ‘Extension of the legal powers of local authorities to make it clear that they have a remit to provide healthy eating advice would help those local authorities that for budgetary reasons stick rigidly to their statutory responsibilities’.