Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Minutes of Evidence


Supplementary memorandum submitted by the Food Standards Agency

FOOD ASSURANCE SCHEMES

  How concerned are you by the National Consumer Council's finding that food assurance schemes are likely to "confuse and mislead consumers rather than inform them"?

  The review of assurance schemes which we carried out in 2002[1] found that consumer involvement in schemes was patchy and that it was difficult for consumers to find out what standards schemes were working to. We therefore developed, in consultation with stakeholders, including scheme operators, Agency advice to schemes recommending improved consumer engagement and setting out the minimum information we considered ought to be available to consumers.

  Can you give us an estimate of the number of farm assurance schemes currently operating in Britain? Would consumer confusion be lessened if there were fewer, consolidated schemes? If so, how could this be achieved?

  The review we published in 2002 focused on the main schemes with a consumer face, that is where there was a label claim or logo. We looked at 18 schemes of which 11 fell under the British Farm Standard/red tractor umbrella.

  Reducing the number of schemes might help to reduce confusion, but our view is that it is more important that consumers should be able to find out what individual schemes offer. For example, our advice recommends that consumers should be able to find out easily to what extent the scheme standards exceed the legal minimum, how instances of non-compliance are dealt with and how any specific claim has been validated.

  How can consumers best be educated about the various farm assurance schemes and the differences between them? Should one individual body be responsible for this?

  The Agency's view is that providing clear consumer information about the offer the scheme is making is the key to facilitating informed choice. We will be carrying out a survey next year to see whether consumer transparency has improved since our review. We also plan to collate information on the different schemes to help consumers make comparisons. The Agency believes it would be helpful if schemes worked together to provide comparable information for consumers across schemes.

  In 2003, the National Consumer Council recommended that the FSA should institute a code of practice for food assurance schemes and a central register of complying schemes. What progress have you made in implementing this recommendation?

  Would you support an overarching body—industry or government—having oversight of this area? Is the FSA itself an appropriate body to carry out such an oversight role?

  The advice on consumer involvement and consumer transparency issued by the Agency in August 2003[2] covers the main issues the NCC was concerned about. The planned survey work will identify those schemes which follow the advice and those which do not.

CONSUMERS' FOOD SAFETY CONCERNS

  The Food Standards Agency tracks the attitudes of consumers to food safety and standards issues in an annual survey involving interviews with over 3,000 people across the UK.

  The attached chart shows levels of concern about specific food issues, tracked over the last four years. Respondents were asked, "are you concerned about any of the following issues?" and provided with a list.

  Food poisoning remains at the top of the list of concerns (60% of respondents concerned). The use of pesticides in food is currently of second highest concern (46%). BSE has fallen from the top issue of concern when the survey was first conducted in 2000 to joint third concern in 2003 (falling from 61% to 42%). The same number (42%) specified the conditions in which food animals are raised as an area of concern.


29 July 2004




1   http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/FAS_Report.PDF Back

2   http://www.food.gov.uk/foodindustry/guidancenotes/labelregsguidance/foodassureguidance Back


 
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