Keeping food safe: the cost of regulation and the price of getting it wrong

Professor Susan Jebb, Chair of the Food Standards Agency (FSA), delivered a thought-provoking talk as part of the Centre for Food Policy’s Food Thinkers series in November.

Addressing the topic “Keeping Food Safe – The Cost of Regulation and the Price of Getting It Wrong”, Professor Jebb highlighted the increasing complexities of regulating the UK’s food systems in a time of global upheaval, new technologies and economic pressures.

Professor Jebb, who has chaired the FSA since 2021, also underscored the importance of vigilance in maintaining food safety, reflecting on both the historical consequences of regulatory lapses and the new challenges on the horizon.

Global crises and food supply chains  

From the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine, recent crises have exposed vulnerabilities in the global food supply chain. Professor Jebb recalled the panic-buying of essential goods during the pandemic and the disruption to sunflower oil supplies due to the Ukraine conflict.

“Our food system is extremely sensitive to global turmoil,” she noted, adding that complex international supply chains often leave UK consumers bearing the brunt of disruptions. “It’s absolutely vital that we have good traceability systems and that food businesses know their supply chain,” Professor Jebb said, referencing the ongoing investigation into peanut-contaminated mustard ingredients as a stark reminder of the risks when things go wrong.

Adapting to innovation  

Professor Jebb highlighted how technological advances are reshaping food production and regulation. She praised innovations like vertical farming and cell-cultivated products but acknowledged that these new methods bring unique risks. The FSA’s adoption of whole genome sequencing, which has improved tracing foodborne illness outbreaks, was showcased as an example of how technology can enhance safety.

The shift to online food delivery also presents challenges. “Aggregators like Deliveroo and Uber Eats are really challenging the traditional system of what you might think of as bricks-and-mortar regulation, where inspectors visit High Street premises to ensure that businesses are doing the right thing,” she explained.

The cost of safety  

Central to Professor Jebb’s talk was the question: who should bear the cost of food safety regulation? Traditionally funded by taxpayers, the FSA is exploring different ideas about how we share that cost across society. “Local authorities could start recovering costs for delivering official controls from businesses, such as the cost of inspections,” Professor Jebb said, emphasising that a robust regulatory system is essential to avoid disasters like the BSE crisis, which caused nearly 200 deaths and long-term economic damage.

Professor Jebb also pointed to workforce shortages in environmental health and trading standards roles as barriers to maintaining high regulatory standards.

Looking ahead

While confident that the UK’s food remains among the safest globally, Professor Jebb called for smarter, data-driven regulation and closer collaboration with food businesses and international partners. She advocated for a national food strategy uniting the UK’s devolved administrations, ensuring consistency across policies and enforcement.

The webinar closed with a Q&A, where Professor Jebb reiterated the need for regulation to support innovation, putting safety first but ensuring that the checks were proportionate to the risks, and making sure that upholding consumer trust remains at the heart of food regulation.

The full recording of the event is available on the Centre for Food Policy’s YouTube channel.