To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of Food Standards Agency oversight of the provision of allergen information by home-based food businesses.
Answered on
11 October 2021
The Department has made no such assessment. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is a non-Ministerial department which acts independently as a food safety regulator. The FSA has responsibility for the regulation of food allergen information and issuing guidance to food businesses and local authorities on the proper implementation and monitoring of allergen information regulations.
Oversight of business compliance with requirements on the provision of allergen information lies with local authority food officers. Local authority food officers will assess a food business’ level of compliance with the allergen information requirements and provide advice or take corrective action where non-compliance is identified.