Hard Cheese

Draft response to Food Standards Scotland's consultation on its regulatory strategy.

Nothing is without risk. All foods have health benefits and disbenefits, some of which are now well understood and some which aren't. Attempting to create a perfectly safe food environment is beyond the scope of modern dietary science. In particular an auto-immune system which is never challenged does not develop resilience necessary for good health; for example, pasteurisation has been associated with the rise in allergies.

There's no doubt that FSS policy to date has been highly detrimental to small innovative food businesses. The destruction of Errington's Cheeses stock on the basis of tenuous and unproven evidence - effectively, on the basis of pure prejudice - has had a very chilling effect on the ability of small food businesses in Scotland to raise capital and find investors. This runs directly against your proposed outcome of 'Enabling business compliance and growth', and detracts sharply from your proposed outcome of 'FSS is a trusted, empowered and effective regulator'.

It is obviously imperative that FSS use 'evidence based decision making', but that 'evidence' has to be open and transparent, and FSS has to be able to communicate clearly to the public exactly on what evidence its decisions are made. Otherwise there will be a widespread perception that FSS favours large industrial processors over smaller artisan businesses.

Commodity milk production in Scotland is now viable only at scales which militate against acceptable standards of animal husbandry, and which generate very little rural employment. If we're to retain a viable population in remote rural areas we must be able to create more jobs per thousand hectares, which means we must be able to add value to primary production at the farm gate; which means in turn that we must process our primary products into higher value products which escape the commodity pricing trap. This observation is made all the more true post Brexit, when we're likely to be forced to compete with food produced in global markets in which standards of animal husbandry are significantly below those which would be acceptable here.

If Foods Standards Scotland are able arbitrarily and impunity to close down any small food business,  this will result in increased rural poverty and depopulation, and lead to more villages ceasing to be able to support services such as shops and schools. Food standards do not exist in a vacuum, but in a wider context of policy objectives and desiderata. We could achieve perfectly healthy food production in Scotland by ceasing to produce any food in Scotland, but that would have serious social and economic consequences, as well as consequences for food security and resilience.

Obviously it is more complex and more costly to inspect and monitor many small producers distributed over remote rural areas than a few large industrial plants in urban settings. Obviously there are risks associated with small scale food production. Obviously there is a role for regulation and for inspection. But FSS must reverse the perception which it has established that it closes smaller businesses arbitrarily and without compelling evidence.

As you say in 2.10a, 'establishing trust is vital'. You are signally failing to achieve this.

In summary, bland words about 'evidence based decision making', 'transparency', 'minimising burdens on business' and 'promot[ing] mature and open relationships' are easy to write, but much harder to implement; and you have got off on a bad foot.

While I broadly welcome the words in your draft strategy, I have much less faith in your ability or even willingness to make good on them.