Shortages in key occupations needed to keep food safe is leaving UK consumers and businesses vulnerable, the Food Standards Agency has said. The number of UK food standards officers has fallen by 45% compared with 10 years ago, according to an annual report by the FSA and Food Standards Scotland.
In Scotland, the number of food law officers who carry out both food hygiene and food standards work has fallen by just over a quarter compared with 2016/17. A lack of OVs posed risks to animal health and welfare and the potential disruption of domestic food supply and the ability to export animal products, while workforce pressure on local authority teams risked hampering their ability to carry out critical food safety and standards checks in food businesses, the FSA said.
FSA chairwoman Professor Susan Jebb said: "The food system across the UK experienced significant challenges throughout 2022, with the rising cost of living and inflation impacting grocery bills for consumers, and food businesses feeling the pressure of labour shortages and increased supply chain costs. Despite these pressures, I'm encouraged that our report indicates that overall, food standards have remained stable.
"Failure to recruit and train professionals to key posts can have reverberations for many years to come. We ask governments across the UK, and others, to work with us to address these matters in the coming year so that people in the UK can continue to have food they can trust, and the strong reputation of British food abroad is maintained."