Supporting family Supercooks
Now that the clocks have gone back, what better way to spend the longer evenings than in your own home with the family, watching the brand new FSA part-funded TV programme ‘Family Supercooks’. You can...
View ArticleAn 'in-salt' to science
I usually like to keep my blogs short and to the point, but following a critical article about the Agency's salt policy in The Times earlier this week, I felt this needed a more detailed response. As...
View ArticleRSC Chemistry Week 2009
Throughout this year the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) has had a series of events showcasing the vital role of chemistry in food. It’s therefore not surprising that they chose food as the theme of...
View ArticleClearing up calorie confusion
If you’ve read the papers or watched the news over the weekend, you may be forgiven for thinking you now have the green light to consume 400 extra calories a day. This was the way that the Scientific...
View ArticleMarketing gold or practical innovation?
As I write this, some of my colleagues are at a conference in Amsterdam, working with their counterparts from all over Europe to review and refine procedures to assess the safety of new foods and...
View ArticleDepicting risk
I was delighted to welcome Professor David Spiegelhalter to the Agency yesterday to give the fourth in our series of Chief Scientist lectures. David is not only a distinguished statistician, but also...
View ArticleUsing science: the principles and practicalities
The Agency is committed to a science- and evidence-based approach in all that we do, and this is reaffirmed both in our new strategy and our new science and evidence strategy (which we will publish...
View Article...and a partridge in a pear tree
Christmas is always a good time to reflect on another year passing, so here are some of my thoughts: Most amusing–Ben Goldacre’s description of the Daily Mail’s Sisyphian project of categorising the...
View ArticleJoining up on science
For the new year, I've made a resolution not to comment on the proliferation of fad diets and detoxes surrounding us in the media (I think we can use our common sense on this). Instead I want to look...
View ArticlePeering at nano-foods
I welcome the report from the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee into nanotechnology, which was chaired by Lord Krebs, a former Chair of the Agency. New and emerging technologies can...
View ArticleFood on the box
Hats off to the BBC for two excellent programmes on food last night, which compliment the Government's food strategy 2030 that was published this week. Jimmy Doherty's investigation into farming in...
View ArticleMad, bad and dangerous to eat… What next?
As I sat eating my toast yesterday morning while listening to the radio and scanning the paper, I was somewhat concerned by the stories being thrown around on food and health – one calling for a ban on...
View ArticleYour views matter
When we’re gathering evidence to develop new policies, we understand how important the public’s views are in contributing to this. I was therefore interested to read the latest annual report of British...
View ArticleLose ‘lbs’ not ‘£s’
Despite the absurdity of Hannah Sutter’s proclamation in Saturday’s Daily Mail, that government advice to ‘exercise more and eat fewer calories’ is making people fat, I felt I had to respond. She...
View ArticleGreen champion challenges Agency
It was a pleasure to have Jonathon Porritt, a distinguished commentator on sustainable development, come to talk to staff and present us with some challenges! Jonathon questioned at what point food...
View ArticleNutrition Research Review
Yesterday we published a strategic review of our nutrition research portfolio. It was conducted by an external, independent panel of experts who have taken a close look at current work and made...
View ArticleThe supersized Last Supper
An interesting piece of research appeared yesterday, suggesting that the size of food portions have grown dramatically over the past millennium.Having studied 52 famous biblical paintings of the Last...
View ArticleRisky reporting
I’m sitting at a conference talking about the huge issue of campylobacter – a food bug that’s making 300,000 people seriously ill every year. There is no uncertainty about the risks to people’s health...
View ArticleGuest blogger: Eating healthy food
'Food is any substance, composed of carbohydrates, water, fats and/or proteins, that is either eaten or drunk by any animal, including humans, for nutrition or pleasure'Wikipedia, the free...
View ArticleMaking chicken safer
I’ve been both interested and encouraged over the past couple of days, hearing what other countries have been doing to reduce levels of campylobacter in chicken. Along with many of my colleagues, I’ve...
View ArticleNormal service is suspended
You won’t need to read this blog to know that the Prime Minister announced the general election today. During the general election campaign the Food Standards Agency websites will continue to provide...
View ArticleTrust me, I’m a scientist…
With the election period over I’m pleased to be blogging again.Although our communications have been quiet and the papers have been flooded with election news, I've noticed there’s still been a trickle...
View ArticleCampylo–what?
The media spin about food that Andrew wrote about here earlier this week is one of the things I worry about as the Food Standards Agency’s Chief Executive – which is why I’ve grabbed the blog to add my...
View ArticleNanofoods – size matters
Having taken a swipe at media spin a few days ago, it’s good to finish the week flagging up a bit of media sense – no prizes for guessing it comes from New Scientist. Its editorial joins the chorus for...
View ArticleThe data behind the review
The Agency published a scientific review of organic food last July, which found that there are no important nutrient differences or nutrition-related health benefits from eating organic food, compared...
View ArticleBabies are sweet enough
Personally I’ve always loved the flavour of honey, so I often opt for it when I fancy something sweet. But the recent case of infant botulism in a 15-week-old baby who'd been fed honey concerned me....
View ArticleIt's a man thing
I saw some sobering figures recently that show heart disease kills more than one in five men, and half of all 40-year-old men will develop heart disease sometime during the rest of their life. This is...
View ArticlePublic health: Let’s look at the bigger picture
The Daily Mail, in not one but two rather sensational articles, calls for a ban on artificial trans fats in food. But to put the dangers of trans fats into perspective, as a nation we consume less than...
View ArticleBags, bugs and basic food safety
It’s good to see a newspaper ‘debunking’ a media health scare for a change, as The Times did on Tuesday with ‘Bugs lurk in your bag for life’. Like many others, I try to do my bit for the environment...
View ArticleKicking out campylobacter
In Andrew’s absence this week, I’d like to hijack the blog and draw your attention to a new research initiative. We are commissioning a range of new research to tackle the food bug campylobacter, which...
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